UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


THE 


TEACHERS'   INSTITUTE; 


FAMILIAR  HINTS 


YOUNG  TEACHERS; 


BY 

WILLIAM   B.    FOWLE, 

FOR  TWENTY-ONE   YEARS   A  TEACHER   IN   BOSTON  ; 
AUTHOR  OF  THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  SPELLER,  AND  THIRTY  OTHER  SCHOOL  BOOKS 


1  Not  a*  though  I  had  attained,  or  were  already  perfect.' 


COND     E  DITION. 

BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY   WILLIAM  B.  FOWLE, 

138^   "Washington   Street. 

1847.      , 

.        •       .    •    •  •    •       .-  -    •        ,       , :  •         : .    .   :  .,;;,,, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1847,  by 

WILLIAM   B.    FOWLE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED   BY 

GEORGE    A.    CURTIS; 

"NEW    KNOT  4ND   TYPE   AND   STEREOTYPE   FOUNDERY, 
BOSTON. 


i 


Stack 
Cage?    Annex 


PREFACE. 

SINCE  the  revival  of  education  in  Massachusetts,  and,  I  may  justly 
say,  in  the  United  States,  in  consequence  of  the  establishment  of  our 
Board  of  Education,  several  valuable  treatises  on  the  important 
subject  of  Public  Instruction  have  been  published,  and  each  in  its 
way  has  done  good  service  to  the  great  cause  ;  but  still,  it  seems  to 
me,  there  is  room  for  the  little  volume  which,  perhaps,  with  more 
zeal  than  discretion,  I  am  about  to  "  cast  upon  the  waters." 

When  I  was  invited  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  to 

take  part  in  the  instruction  to  be  given  at  the  Teachers'  Institutes, 

which  he  proposed  to  hold  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  I  was  not 

aware  that  my  notions  of  the  matter  and  manner  of  teaching  were 

v>     so  different  from  those  which  prevailed.     When,  however,  at  the 

viu    -Institutes,  some  of  the  lessons  which  I  had  given  at  least  a  quarter 

*°     of  a  century  ago.  were  viewed  as  novelties,  and  listened  to  with 

>•     attention  as  unexpected  as  it  was  gratifying,  I  readily  yielded  to  the 

<     repeated  suggestion  that  it  might   aid  the   cause  of  education  to 

gj      publish  such  of  my  hints  as  could  be  written  out,  however  inferior 

33     they  must  necessarily  be  to  the  living  lessons  that  I  had  given  in 

person. 

Those  lessons  were  all  given  without  any  book,  and  usually  without 
J*        any  notes  ;  but  this  volume  contains,  I  believe,  a  faithful  sketch  of 

tthem,  with  three  of  the  many  lectures  that  I  delivered,  and  such 
additional  remarks  as  occurred  to  me  while  the  work  was  in  progress. 

(  It  makes  no  claim  to  be  a  complete  treatise  on  education,  for  I  had 

neither  time  nor  inch'  nation  to  attempt  so  high  a  task.  It  is  no  com- 
pilation, however,  but  a  familiar  record  of  my  own  experience, 
written  in  the  midst  of  business,  and  with  the  'printer  at  my  heels,  — 
two  disadvantages  which  those  only  can  fully  appreciate  who  have 
been  so  incautious  as  to  try  a  similar  experiment. 

Teachers'  Institutes  are  assemblies  of  teachers,  convened  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  and  imparting  instruction  in  regard  to  the  art  of 
teaching.  They  are,  in  fact,  temporary  Normal  Schools,  although, 
of  course,  conducted  with  less  system  and  less  preparation.  The 
duty  of  calling  them  devolved  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  and  he  was  present  several  days  at  each  of  the  ten  that 
were  held  in  the  autumns  of  1845  and  1846,  of  which  duty  an 
interesting  report  is  given  in  his  Ninth  Annual  Report  to  the  Board. 

%  The  exercises  consisted  mainly  of  lessons  given  by  some  experienced 
teacher  ;  of  mutual  instruction  by  the  members  of  the  Institute  ;  of 
free  discussions,  in  which  the  citizens,  especially  school-committee- 
men,  often  took  part  ;  and  of  lectures  by  gentlemen  who  had  paid 
attention  to  the  progress  of  public  education  in  the  State.  Of  course, 


409476 


IV  PREFACE. 

as  far  as  possible,  teachers  and  lecturers  on  all  systems,  and  on  all 
educational  subjects,  were  invited  to  teach  and  lecture,  that  the 
young  teachers  might  see  and  hear  all  that  was  abroad,  and  be  able 
to  carry  home  many  inventions  that  they  would  never,  perhaps,  have 
wrought  out  in  their  almost  isolated  districts.  I  spent  a  longer  time 
than  any  other  teacher  at  these  Institutes,  and  probably  said  and  did 
more  than  any  other.  I  must,  of  course,  have  said  many  things 
about  which  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  in  this  community,  for  I 
am  accustomed  to  speak  what  I  think,  without  asking  whether  the 
thought  is  popular  or  not.  It  is  my  duty,  therefore,  to  declare,  that 
neither  the  Board  of  Education,  who  honored  me  by  the  invitation, 
nor  their  Secretary,  is  accountable  for  any  sentiments  1  uttered  at 
the  institutes,  and  much  less  for  any  thing  I  have  written  in  this 
volume.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that,  until  it  was  published, 
neither  the  Board  nor  its  Secretary  had  any  knowledge  of  the  con- 
tents of  this  book,  nor  even  of  my  intention  to  publish  it. 

It  has  been  my  misfortune  to  make  more  than  thirty  school-books, 
and,  as  they  embody  most  of  my  notions  on  the  subject  of  instruction, 
I  have  freely  referred  to  them  in  this  volume  ;  and  the  constant  fear 
of  referring  to  them,  while  I  was  addressing  the  Institutes,  was  a 
fruitful  source  of  embarrassment  and  pain. 

To  the  young  teachers,  in  whose  presence  I  have  had  the  honor 
and  the  pleasure  "  to  fight  my  battles  over  again,"  this  volume  is 
affectionately  dedicated,  in  the  humble  hope  that  it  may  do  something 
to  lighten  their  labors,  and  elevate  that  profession,  which,  for  true 
dignity  and  importance,  has  no  superior. 

WM.  B.  FOWLE. 

January,  1847. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Reading, 7 

Spelling,      .     .     , 27 

Arithmetic, 45 

Mental  Arithmetic, 68 

Writing, .73 

Drawing, • 82 

Lecture  on  Geography,    .     , 87 

Remarks  on  Geography, ...          102 

Lecture  on  the  Uses  and  Abuses  of  Memory, 117 

English  Grammar, 138 

Composition, 178 

Lecture  on  the  Monitorial  System, 185 

Remarks  on  the  Use  of  Monitors, 208 

Neatness, ,  222 

The  Opening  and  Closing  of  School, 227 

Music, 243 

Emulation  and  Discipline, 248 

Conclusion,       258 

1* 


BLACKBOARDS, 

IN  this  volume,  no  set  lesson  on  the  use  of 
blackboards  is  given,  because  the  whole  vol- 
ume, from  beginning  to  end,  is  a  practical 
lesson  on  the  use  of  this  indispensable  part  of 
school  apparatus. 


BEADING. 

THE  first  thing  to  be  done  is,  in  some  way  or  other,  to 
make  the  child  acquainted  with  the  Alphabet.  Twenty  years 
ago,  there  was  but  one  way  of  doing  this.  The  names  of  the 
letters  were  taught  in  connection  with  their  forms,  and  as  the 
teacher  could  only  hear  the  child  name  the  letters  once  or 
twice  in  the  forenoon  or  afternoon,  a  task  which  occupied  five 
or  six  minutes,  the  work  was  not  usually  accomplished  in 
less  than  three  months,  and  it  not  unfrequently  required  six. 

When  we  consider  how  little  amusement  there  is  in  learn- 
ing the  Alphabet  in  this  way,  we  cannot  help  wondering  at  the 
patience  of  the  little  victims,  and  at  the  cruelty  or  awkward- 
ness of  the  teacher,  who  cann0t  or  does  not  invent  some 
method  by  which  the  entrance  to  the  path  of  knowledge  may 
be  made  less  painful  to  the  little  travellers. 

We  are  by  no  means  certain  that  there  is  a  better  way 
than  to  begin  with  teaching  the  names  of  the  letters,  but  we 
are  certain  that  this  may  be  done  in  many  ways  that  will 
engage  the  attention  of  the  children,  and  be  highly  interesting 
to  them. 

We  have  said  that  six  months  are  sometimes  consumed  in 
teaching  a  child  the  Alphabet ;  but  this  is  a  mistake,  —  the  time 
is  consumed  in  idleness,  and  not  in  teaching.  If  the  child  is 
allowed  ten  minutes  a  day,  and  this  is  more  than  the  average 
allowance,  the  whole  time  allotted  to  a  child  in  six  months 
will  be  less  than  twenty-two  hours,  that  is,  less  than  one 
entire  day.  For,  if  the  school  is  kept  five  days  in  a  week, 
the  number  of  hours  devoted  to  the  child  in  twenty-six  weeks, 
or  six  months,  will  be  only  twenty-one  hours  and  two  thirds. 

My  custom  was  to  give  the  child  what  minutes  I  could 
spare,  and  then  to  employ  some  older  child  in  giving  as  much 
practice  as  the  child  desired.  The  consequence  was,  that  the 
Alphabet  was  learned  in  a  few  weeks  at  furthest,  but  not,  as 


8  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

it  is  usually  learned,  by  name   only.     Let  me  explain  my 
method  more  in  detail,  and  illustrate  it  by  an  anecdote. 

A  year  or  two  ago,  I  was  unexpectedly  detained  in  a  village 
of  Massachusetts,  and  knowing  no  person.1  naturally  wandered 
to  the  schoolhouse,  where  I  am  always^Hre  to  find  a  welcome. 
There  were  three  schools  in  the  building,  and,  by  accident,  I 
entered  what  was  called  the  infant  school.  About  sixty  little 
children  were  present,  and  by  no  means  idle,  for  it  would  be 
difficult  to  imagine  a  more  busy  scene.  The  teacher,  a  young 
lady  of  prepossessing  appearance,  was  in  one  corner  of  the 
room,  looking  over  the  book  of  one  of  a  small  class,  that  was 
reading  to  her.  The  noise  of  the  other  children  obliged  her 
to  place  her  ear  close  to  the  reader,  and,  of  course,  she  could 
not  properly  overlook  the  rest  of  the  school.  Nothing  that  I 
had  ever  seen  could  equal  the  irregularities  that  I  beheld,  and 
had  my  life  depended  upon  the  effort,  I  could  not  have 
avoided  laughing  at  the  novel  scene  of  fun  and  frolic  before 
me.  As  soon  as  the  teacher  saw  that  a  stranger  was  observ- 
ing her,  she  left  her  class,  and  came  forward  to  meet  me. 
She  blushed,  and  was  evidently  embarrassed ;  and  I  said  to 
her,  "  You  have  a  busy  scene  here."  "  Indeed  I  have,"  said 
she.  "I  never  taught  till  yesterday,  and  I  am  so  distracted 
that  I  must  give  up."  I  told  her  kindly  that  she  was  under- 
taking too  much,  for  she  should  not  attempt  to  teach  until  she 
had  established  something  like  order.  "  But  the  parents 
expect  me  to  teach  every  child  twice  a  day,"  said  she,  "  and 
if  I  do  not,  I  shall  be  censured.  But,"  asked  she,  "  how  can 
I  restore  order  amidst  such  confusion  ?"  "I  should  introduce 
some  general  exercise,"  said  I,  "  that  will  interest  them  all." 
"  But  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  know  any  thing,"  said 
she,  "  and  how  can  they  work  together  ?  "  "I  will  show  you," 
said  I,  "  if  you  will  excuse  the  liberty  I  take."  I  then  tapped 
a  few  times  gently  on  the  desk,  and  all  were  silent.  I  kept 
.:n,  and  asked  the  children  to  tap  as  I  did.  They  readily  did  so, 
and  soon  kept  good  time,  and  were  highly  pleased.  Then  said 
I,  "  Such  of  you  as  do  not  know  the  Alphabet,  hold  up  your 
hands ! "  They  did  not  know  what  I  meant ;  but  when  I 
varied  the  question  and  said,  "  All  who  do  not  know  the  A,  B, 
C,  hold  up  your  hands ! "  so  many  hands  went  up  that  it 
seemed  as  if  some  must  have  held  up  more  than  two.  "Now," 
said  I,  "  I  wish  all  of  you  to  go  out,  and  stand  before  that 
large  black-board."  Sixteen  or  seventeen  went  out,  and  stood 
in  that  kind  of  confusion  which  Dr.  Blair,  I  think,  says  is 


READING.  9 

rather  an  element  of  the  romantic  than  of  the  beautiful.  I 
took  the  chalk  and  drew  a  large  semi-circle  in  front  of  the 
board,  drawing  the  chalk  over  such  little  feet  as  stood  in  the 
way,  and  when  I  told  them  to  toe  the  chalk,  there  was  such  an 
eagerness  to  obey,  that,  for  a  minute  or  two,  the  whole  class 
looked  like  a  squad  of  adult  recruits  at  their  first  drill.  This 
movement  attracted  the  attention  of  the  rest  of  the  pupils,  and 
kept  them  still,  so  that  the  way  was  prepared  for  a  lesson  in 
the  Alphabet. 

I  then  printed  a  capital  A  on  the  board,  and  asked,  "  Does 
any  one  know  what  letter  this  is  ?"  "  A  !  A  !  A  ! "  said  half 
a  dozen  of  them.  "  Yes,  that  is  the  first  letter,"  said  I,  "  and 
its  name  is  A.  Now  let  all  say  A."  "  A  !  A  !  A  !"  said  they, 
in  great  confusion.  "  Now,"  said  I,  "  say  A  all  together, 
when  I  knock  on  the  board."  They  did  so  ten  or  fifteen 
times.  "  Now,"  said  I,  "  which  of  you  can  make  an  A  like 
this  on  the  board  ? "  "I  can  !  I  can  !  I  can ! "  said  several.  I 
gave  the  chalk  to  one  of  the  largest,  and  she  made  an  A  thus : 
"  Very  well,"  said  I,  "  but  does  not  your  A  turn 
up  its  toes  more  than  mine  does  ? "  "  Yes,  sir," 
said  she,  and  rubbed  both  feet  out,  and  tried  to 
make  them  better.  "  Is  not  one  leg  longer  than 
the  other  ? "  said  I.  "  O,  yes',  sir  ! "  said  she,  and 
.  rubbed  off  a  portion  of  it.  "  Very  well,"  said  I ; 
I  see  but  one  thing  more.  If  you  were  sitting  on  that  cross- 
bar," said  I,  "  would  not  you  slide  down  to  one  side  ?  "  "  Yes, 
sir,"  said  she,  and  rubbing  out  the  bar,  she  made  another 
that  sloped  as  much  to  the  right.  When  I  asked  if  she  would 
not  slide  the  other  way,  she  tried  again,  and  made  the  cross- 
bar nearly  horizontal. 

"Very  well,  indeed!"  said  I.  "Now,  cannot  some  one 
take  the  chalk  and  make  another  A  as  good  as  that  ?  "  Half 
a  dozen  came  forward.  I  selected  a  little  boy,  who  had  never 
learned  a  letter  before,  and  who  was  the  smallest  child  in 
the  class.  He  took  the  chalk  and  made  a  large  A,  strad- 
dling over  the  head  of  the  other,  thus : 
"  Bravely  done  ! "  said  I ;  "  that  is  a  fine 
great  A,  but  he  is  too  large  for  the  little 
one  to  carry.  Can't  you  make  him  stand 
by  the  side  of  the  other?"  He  gave  me 
a  knowing  nod  of  assent,  rubbed  out  the 
great  one,  and  made  another  as  I  directed.  I  then  called  on 
every  one  of  the  class  in  turn  to  make  an  A,  and  not  one 


10  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

failed  to  do  so,  and  every  time  a  new  A  was  made,  the  whole 
class,  at  a  signal  given,  called  out,  "  A !  A !  A! "  several  times. 

Then  I  proceeded  to  B ;  but,  just  then,  a  friend,  who  was 
travelling  in  company  with  me,  entered,  and  seeing  that  the 
time  was  short,  and  the  teacher  quick  to  apprehend,  I  gave 
over  my  lesson,  and  asked  my  friend  to  set  the  whole  school 
a  singing.  This  exercise,  of  which  the  first  line  of  the 
Multiplication  Table  was  the  subject,  suited  them  wonderfully, 
and  was  continued  several  minutes.  After  a  little  familiar 
talk  with  the  teacher,  who  by  this  time  was  relieved,  and 
emboldened  to  question  us,  we  departed.  It  is  but  justice  for 
me  to  add,  that,  several  months  afterwards,  as  I  was  passing 
through  that  village,  I  looked  in  upon  my  young  friend,  and 
found  her  in  the  midst  of  an  orderly  school,  without  any 
fear  of  being  disobeyed  or  distracted. 

In  teaching  the  alphabet,  therefore,  I  should  teach  by 
classes,  if  more  than  one  was  ignorant  of  the  letters,  and  I 
should  require  every  letter  to  be  made  by  every  child.  1 
should  keep  alive  the  interest  of  the  child  or  the  class  by 
talking  about  the  letters,  as  if  they  were  things  or  persons, 
and  thus  I  would  impress  upon  the  mind  of  the  child,  not  only 
the  general  form,  but  the  peculiarities  of  every  letter.  Chil- 
dren taught  in  this  way  would  never  do  what  I  have  seen 
done  by  many  teachers ;  for,  when  I  have  attended  Teachers' 
Institutes,  which  are  conventions  of  teachers  for  mutual 
instruction,  I  have  repeatedly  asked  each  teacher  to  print  an 
alphabet,  and  I  have  never  failed  to  find  some  who  formed 
the  letters  J,  N,  S,  Z,  thus,  1. ,  "tt,  2  ,  X .  In  one  Institute  of 
a  hundred  teachers,  seven  turned  all  these  letters,  and  some 
others,  the  wrong  way.  Had  they  taught  the  alphabet  as  I 
propose,  they  would  have  learned  as  well  as  the  children. 

But  I  should  not  teach  the  whole  alphabet  before  I  began 
to  use  it.  As  soon  as  the  child  can  make  several  letters,  I 
keep  them  in  a  line  at  the  top  of  the  black-board  ;  and,  before 
a  new  letter  is  added,  I  make  all  the  class  call  the  name  of 
each  as  I  point  at  it.  When  they  can  make  eight,  and  name 
them,  or  even  sooner,  I  begin  to  combine  them  into  words. 
Thus  of  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  G,  H,— I  make  BAD,  and  pro- 
nounce it,  requiring  them  to  pronounce  it  after  me.  Then  I 
ask  them  what  BAD  means ;  and,  if  a  good  instance  occurs 
to  me,  I  tell  them  of  some  BAD  boy  or  BAD  girl,  and  give 
them  some  caution  or  advice.  Then,  to  teach  them  the  sound 
of  A,  I  tell  them  that,  without  the  D,  the  word  is  pro- 
nounced BA;  without  B  and  D,  it  is  A.  Then  I  require  the 


READING.  ]  1 

whole  class  to  pronounce  BAD,  then  BA,  then  A,  several 
times,  till  the  sound  of  A  in  BAD,  and  that  of  the  B  and 
D,  are  well  understood.  Then  I  write  the  word  BAD  at  the 
top  or  side  of  the  black-board,  and  proceed  to  form  another 
word,  say  BED.  This  word  must  be  pronounced,  like  the 
former,  several  times ;  then  without  the  D  ;  without  B  and  D ; 
and,  finally,  the  sound  of  E  alone  must  be  given.  Do  not 
hurry  to  a  new  word  till  the  old  one  is  familiar,  every  sound 
of  it. 

Those  who  prefer  to  teach  words  before  letters,  or,  with 
them,  will  like  this  method,  which  seems  to  be  free  from  the 
objections  that  have  been  urged  against  the  plan  of  teaching 
whole  words,  without  separating  them  into  their  elementary 
letters  and  sounds. 

To  relieve  the  children,  I  would  now  give  them  some 
advice  about  going  to  BED,  or  rising  betimes.  Perhaps  I 
should  recommend  a  short  prayer  when  they  retire  and  rise, 
and  should  tell  them  what  a  prayer  is,  and  how  it  should  be 
made.  A  seed  sown  in  this  way  may  bear  most  precious 
fruit.  The  teacher  may  thus  form  many  words.  But  three 
or  four  at  a  lesson  will  be  enough ;  and  at  every  new  lesson, 
every  word  that  the  teacher  has  formed  at  the  previous  lesson 
must  be  formed  by  the  children  as  a  spelling  lesson.  The 
children  will  then  see  the  use  of  letters  in  the  formation  of 
words,  and  will  acquire  some  knowledge  of  what  is  called 
their  power  as  well  as  of  their  names  and  forms. 

I  have  sometimes  even  attempted  to  analyze  the  words  thus 
formed,  by  spelling  them  by  their  pmvers  or  sounds,  and  not 
by  their  names.  Some  intelligent  children  very  readily  learn 
the  powers  in  this  way,  and  easily  distinguish  between  the 
name  in  the  alphabet  and  the  sound  in  the  word.  To  enable 
the  teacher  to  do  this,  it  may  be  convenient  for  him  to  have  a 
few  words  of  instruction  in  regard  to  the  powers  of  the  letters, 
and  I  subjoin  them :  — 

TABLE  OF  VOWEL  SOUNDS. 

Common  School  Speller. 

1.  A,  as  in  Fate  and  in  Pa-per,  .         .         .   pp.     13,  31,  84 
the  same  as 

24,  45,  148 
25,47 
173 
25,47 
82,  132 


AI    in  Aid     and  Rai-sin, 
AY  in  Day     and  Pay-ment, 
El    in  Feint  and  Hei-nous, 
EY  in  They  and  Ey-ry, 
EA  in  Great  and  Steak, 


12  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Common  School  Speller. 

2.  A,  as  in  Fat,  and  in  Hab-it,       .     .     .     .pp.  14,  32,  85 

3.  A,  as  in  All,  and  in  Wa-ter,      .     .     .     .  "  22,  44 

the  same  as 

AU  in  Daub          and  Cau-cus,   .     .  "  24,  46,  129 

AW  in  Dawn         and  Aw-ful,     .     .  "  25,  47 

4.  A,  as  in  Fast,  and  in  Pa-pa,      .     ..."  23,  43,  104 

the  same  as 

AH  in  Ah !           and  Se-lah,      ..     .  "  80,  113 

EA  in  Heart         and  Heark-en,      .  "  84 

AU  in  Aunt          and  Daunt-less,     .  "  174 

5.  A,  as  in  Care,  and  in  Wei-fare,     ..."  46 

the  same  as 

EA  in  Bear          and  For-swear,     .  "  83 

AI     in  Air            and  Re-pair,    .     .  "  46 

1.  E,  as  in  Me,  and  in  Sin-cere,    .     .     .     .  "  16,  33,  86 

the  same  as 

EE   in  Beef          and  A-greed,   .     .  "  25,  48,  129 

EA   in  Pea            and  Ap-peal,    .     .  "  26,  48,  130 

IE     in  Field         and  A-piece,    .     .  "  27,  50,  130 

El     in  Ei-ther       and  Con-ceit,  .     .  "  27,  50,  139 

I        in  Suite          and  Po-lice,     .     .  "  170 

2.  E,  as  in  Met,  and  in  Pro-tect,   .     .     .     .  "  16,  34,  86 

the  same  as 

AI     in  Said          and  A-gain,     .     .  "  173 

EA  in  Head          and  Heav-en,  .     .  "  82,  132 

El     in  Heif-er,      and  Foreign,    .     .  "  173 

IE     in  Friend,          ,  "  173 

1.  I,  as  in  Pine,  and  in  Em-pire,        ..."  17,  35,  87 

the  same  as 

Y      in  Fly            and  Re-ply,     .     .  "  23, 42,  95 

IE     in  Pie             and  Be-lie,       .     .  "  27 

IGH  in  Fight         and  De-light,  .     .  "  56 

2.  I,  as  in  Pin,  and  in  Di-rect,       ..-.."  18,  37,  88 

the  same  as 

Y      in  Lynx         and  Sys-tem,  .     .  "  42,  99,  120 

EY  in  Val-ley      and  Tur-key,  .     .  "  43 

AI     in  Vil-lain      and  Cap-tain,  .     .  "  174 

IA     in  Mar-riage  and  Par-lia-ment,  "  174 

El     in  Mul-lein    and  For-feit,    .     .  "  173 

UI    in  Build         and  Guilt-y,     .     .  "  82 


READING.  13 
Common  School  Speller. 

1.  O,  as  in  No,  and  in  Pro-mote,  ....  pp.  19,  38,  89 

the  same  as 

OA   in  Oak     and  Char-coal, ..."  28,  52,  131 

OE    m  Toe      and  Roe-buck,       .     .     "  29 

OU  in  Soul     and  Poul-try,    ..."  29,  52 

OW  in  Bowl    and  Dis-own,   ..."  29,  52 

2.  O,  as  in  Not,  and  in  A-dopt,      .     .     .     .     "  20, 39,  90 

the  same  as 

A      in  Swan  and  Watch-ful,      .     .     "  45 

3.  O,  as  in  Do,  and  in  Im-prove,  .     .     .     .     "  55 

the  same  as 

OO   in  Cool     and  Bal-loon,   ..."  28,  51 

W     in  Wax     and  Wil-ling,  (W,  consonant) 

OU  in  You     and  Surtout,     ..."  179 

4.  O,  as  in  Nor,  and  in  For-Iorn,  .     ..."  27,  50,  104 

1.  U,  as  in  Cube,  and  in  Re-buke,      ..."  21,40,90 

the  same  as 

EW  in  Few     and  Sin-ew,      ..."  27,  49 

EU  in  Feud    and  Neu-ter,     ..."  81 

UE  in  Cue      and  Im-bue,      ..."  81 

UI    in  Juice    and  Nui-sance,      .     .     "  82 

2.  U,  as  in  Tub,  and  in  A-dult,     ...'."  21,  41,  91 

the  same  as 

0  in  Monk,  Li-on,       Fa-vor,      .     "  57,  123 
OU  in  Touch,  Coup-let,  Pi-ous, .     .     "  58,  126 
A      in  Vo-cal,  Li-ar,        Or-gan,      .     "  105,  159 
E      in  Her       and           Bar-ber,     .     "  108 

1  in  Sir        and           Na-dir,      .     "  59 

3.  U,  as  in  Bull,  and  in  Pul-pit,    .     .     .     .     "  31,  55 

1.  OU,  as  in  Bound,  and  in  De-vour,     .     .     "  29,  53,  131 
OW,  as  in  Now,     and  in  Crowd-ed,  .     .     "  30,  53,  132 

2.  01,    as  in  Oil,   and  in  A-void,       ..."  30,  54,  132 
OY,  as  in  Boy,  and  in  Em-ploy,   ..."  30,  54 


TABLE  OF  CONSONANT  SOUNDS. 


B, 

in  Bat 

and  Cab. 

C,  (soft) 

in  Cent 

and  Mince. 

(hard) 

in  Cat 

and  Zinc. 

2 

14 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


CH, 

(soft) 

in 

Chin 

and 

Patch. 

(hard) 

in 

Chasm 

and 

Conch. 

(like  SH) 

in 

Chaise 

and 

Ma-chine. 

D, 

in 

Dot 

and 

Bad. 

F, 

in 

Fan 

and 

Chaff. 

G, 

(soft) 

in 

Gin 

and 

Dodge. 

(hard) 

in 

Got 

and 

Dog. 

H, 

in 

Hat 

and 

Hop. 

J, 

in 

Jog 

and 

Judge. 

K, 

in 

Kin 

and 

Sick. 

L, 

in 

Lap 

and 

Felt. 

M, 

in 

Man 

and 

Ham. 

N, 

in 

Nut 

and 

Bun. 

(nasal) 

in 

Tin-ker 

and 

Un-cle. 

P, 

in 

Pig 

and 

Hop. 

Qu, 

(as  KW) 

in 

Quit 

and 

Quell. 

(asK) 

in 

Ob-lique 

and 

Li-quor. 

R, 

(rough) 

in 

Rob 

and 

Fer-ry. 

(smooth) 

in 

Bare 

and 

Care-ful. 

s, 

(hissing) 

in 

Sun 

and 

Lisp. 

(buzzing) 

in 

Pins 

and 

Was. 

SH, 

in 

Shop 

and 

Bush. 

T, 

in 

Ten 

and 

Flat. 

TH, 

(lisping) 

in 

Thin 

and 

Faith. 

(humming) 

in 

This 

and 

With. 

V, 

in 

Vest 

and 

Give. 

w, 

(as  OO) 

in 

Was 

and 

Wife. 

X, 

(as  CS) 

in 

Wax 

and 

Text. 

(as  GZ) 

in 

Ex-act 

and 

Ex-ult. 

Y, 

(as  E  long) 

in 

Yet 

and 

York. 

z, 

in 

Zed 

and 

A-maze. 

(as  ZH) 

in 

A-zure 

and 

Bra-zier. 

In  using  the  preceding  Tables,  of  course,  there  will  be  a 
great  variety  of  methods,  and  a  skilful  teacher  will  hardly 
need  any  instruction.  I  shall  content  myself,  therefore,  with 
only  a  few  general  hints. 

tn  attempting  to  teach  the  powers  or  sounds  to  mere  begin- 
ners, the  first  column  only  of  vowel  sounds  should  be  used, 
until  the  children  are  familiar  with  them.  The  teacher 
should  first  pronounce  the  sound,  and  require  the  class  to 
pronounce  after  him ;  and,  if  any  teacher  is  in  doubt  as  to 
the  precise  sound  of  a  letter,  he  may  arrive  at  it  by  first  pro- 


READING.  15 

nouncing  the  word  that  contains  the  letter,  say  Fate,  which 
consists  of  three  sounds  only,  viz.,  F,  A,  T,  the  E  being 
silent.  Then  let  him  drop  the  T,.  and  pronounce  F,  A. 
Finally,  dropping  the  F,  let  him  pronounce  the  A  alone. 
First  drop  what  follows  the  vowel,  then  what  precedes  it,  and 
then  pronounce  the  bare  vowel  sound. 

In  teaching  the  consonants  and  combinations,  a  similar  rule 
may  be  adopted.  Pronounce  the  word  Bat,  for  instance, 
then  drop  the  T,  then  drop  the  A,  and  give  the  B,  which  will 
be  found  to  be  pronounced  by  the  lips.  Then  pronounce 
CAB  ;  omit  the  C  and  pronounce  AB  ;  then  pronounce  the 
B.  In  pronouncing  the  consonants,  both  columns  of  words 
may  be  used. 

Some  have  divided  these  consonant  sounds  into  sub-vowels 
and  aspirates,  the  sound  of  the  sub-vowels  being  heard,  and 
that  of  the  aspirates  being  only  a  whisper  or  breathing.  Of 
this  latter  class  are,  F,  H,  K,  P,  S,  T,  SH,  CH  soft,  TH 
sharp,  and  WH,  which  last  is  pronounced  as  if  written  HW, 
which  approaches  the  sound  of  HOO.  A  little  practice  will 
make  all  these  sounds  very  familiar.  As  it  is  very  con- 
venient to  exhibit  the  tables  to  the  class,  and  as  the  chalking 
of  them  on  the  black-board  requires  more  time  and  occupies 
more  space  than  the  teacher  can  always  spare,  the  author  has 
caused  them  to  be  printed  in  large  type  on  a  sheet,  to  be  hung 
up  before  the  class. 

After  the  pupils  are  familiar  with  the  vowel  and  consonant 
sounds,  the  teacher  may  proceed  to  expose  the  unlucky  rich- 
ness of  our  alphabet,  which  enables  us .  to  indicate  the  same 
sound  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  This  will  lead  him  to 
notice  the  second  column  of  characters  in  the  table  of  vowel 
sounds,  AI,  AY,  &c. 

If  our  alphabet  were  what  it  ought  to  be,  we  should  have 
one  character  or  letter  to  represent  each  sound  used  in  con- 
versation, and  but  one,  so  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  spell 
a  word  with  more  than  one  set  of  characters  ;  but,  unfortu- 
nately, those  who  first  wrote  English,  instead  of  inventing  a 
new  alphabet  adapted  to  the  English  language,  used  that 
belonging  to  the  Latin  tongue,  and  did  not  do  as  well  as  they 
might  have  done  even  with  that.  It  so  happens,  therefore, 
that  several  of  the  sounds  of  our  language  have  no  letter  or 
character  to  represent  them,  and  some  of  the  characters  that 
we  have  are  obliged  to  represent  more  than  one  sound. 

Thus,  in  the  table,  the  character  A  has  at  least  five  sounds, 


16  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

and  the  first  of  them,  viz.,  long  A,  may  be  represented  by  five 
other  characters,  viz.,  Ai,  Ay,  Ei,  Ey,  and  Ea.  Short  1  may 
be  represented  by  six  other  characters,  viz.,  Y  short,  Ey,  Ai, 
la,  Ei  and  Ui.  The  new  method,  called  Phonography,  if 
written,  and  Pkonotypy,  if  printed,  proposes  to  correct  this 
evil,  and  to  furnish  one  character  for  every  sound,  and  to  use 
but  one.  This  reform  has  been  attempted  several  times 
before,  but  without  success  ;  for,  besides  the  want  of  skill  in 
forming  the  new  characters,  the  educated  class  are  reluctant 
to  learn  a  new  alphabet,  and  to  have  the  published  literature 
of  our  language  become  a  dead  letter.  Whether  the  system 
of  Phonotypy  now  offered  for  acceptance  will  succeed  any 
better  than  its  predecessors  is  doubtful ;  but,  considering  it 
almost  certain  that,  for  many  years,  it  will  not  succeed  to  any 
considerable  extent,  I  have  prepared  the  tables  of  vowel  and 
consonant  sounds  so  that,  while  presenting  no  obstacle  to  the 
introduction  of  the  new  system,  they  will  enable  the  teacher 
to  make  his  pupils  more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
old. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  there  are  figures  in  the  tables. 
These  refer  to  pages  in  the  Common  School  Speller  of  the 
author,  where  suitable  lessons  illustrating  the  sound  may  be 
found  all  prepared  to  the  teacher's  hand.  In  fact,  his  whole 
Spelling  Book  is  but  a  practical  lesson  upon  the  tables,  the 
classification  of  the  words  being  based  upon  the  fundamental 
sounds  of  the  language,  so  that  it  is  a  comple  system  of  Pro- 
nunciation as  well  as  of  Orthography.  If  it  is  used  in  the 
school,  the  teacher  has  only  to  direct  the  children  to  the  page, 
and  require  them  to  spell  and  pronounce  ;  but,  if  the  teacher 
alone  has  a  copy  of  the  Speller,  he  can  chalk  as  many  words 
as  he  pleases  in  addition  to  those  in  the  tables,  until  the  class 
have  had  sufficient  practice. 

After  the  child  is  acquainted  with  the  alphabet  and  the 
elementary  sounds,  the  question  arises,  "  How  must  he  be 
taught  to  read  ?  "  This  is  a  question  of  some  moment,  and 
one,  at  first  sight,  might  be  excused  for  thinking  it  a  difficult 
matter  to  answer  it.  I  am  inclined,  however,  to  think  that, 
with  proper  management,  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  make 
children  read  well.  I  should  lay  it  down,  however,  as  a  pre- 
requisite, essential  to  success,  that  the  teacher  of  reading 
should  be  a  good  reader  himself. 

It  has  often  been  objected  to  this  position,  that  children 
have  been  taught  to  read  well  by  instructors  who  were  very 
indifferent  readers.  That  children  have  learned  to  read 


READING.  17 

under  such  teachers  I  am  willing  to  admit,  because  the  fact  is 
evident ;  but  that  they  have  been  taught  by  their  masters,  I 
do  not  admit,  for  /  consider  it  impossible  for  any  person  to 
teach  well  what  he  does  not  understand.  If  a  child  has  some- 
times learned  to  read  or  write,  or  cipher  or  sing,  under  an 
incompetent  instructor,  it  has  been,  not  because  of  the  teacher, 
but  in  spite  of  him,  and  the  question  is,  not  how  much  has  he 
learned,  but  how  much  more  would  he  have  learned  had  the 
instructor  been  fully  prepared  to  teach  him. 

Before  the  child  reads,  some  attention  should  be  paid  to  his 
position.  For  a  general  rule,  he  should  rest  on  the  left  foot, 
which  should  be  a  little  turned  out,  and  the  right  heel  should 
be  about  opposite  the  middle  of  the  left  foot,  and  two  or 
three  inches  from  it ;  a  position  not  unlike  that  which  the 
dancing-masters  call  their  second  position.  The  book,  unless 
very  heavy,  should  be  held  in  the  left  hand,  opposite  the 
chest,  and  never  so  high  as  to  conceal  the  chin  of  the  reader. 

The  reader  should  also  be  placed  at  a  good  distance  from 
the  teacher,  for  it  is  desirable  that  he  should  read  so  as  to  be 
heard  across  a  common  school-room,  and  few  children  will  do 
this,  if  placed  near  the  teacher,  for  they  naturally  calculate  to 
make  those  whom  they  address  hear  them,  and  few  children 
read  aloud,  if  reading  in  a  low  voice  is  sufficient  to  make  the 
teacher  hear.  If  possible,  the  class  should  always  stand 
while  reading,  and  so  stand  that  the  teacher  can  see  the  entire 
person  of  every  one,  that  he  may  watch  their  positions.  At 
one  of  the  Teachers'  Institutes,  I  required  every  teacher  to 
stand  on  a  platform  in  full  view  of  the  others.  It  evidently 
cost  many  of  them  a  great  effort,  and  more  than  half  of  them 
had  never  been  so  exposed  before.  One  young  female,  who 
had  taught  several  summers,  faltered  at  the  first  word  she 
uttered,  then  trembled,  dropped  her  book  to  her  side,  and 
burst  into  tears.  She  then  made  for  her  seat,  but  I  stopped 
her,  and  encouraged  her  not  to  yield,  but  to  do  as  she  would 
advise  a  pupil  to  do  in  similar  circumstances.  She  rallied, 
resolved,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  read  without  further  trouble. 
When  called  on  in  turn  again,  she  came  forward,  and  read 
with  a  sort  of  satisfaction  at  the  victory  she  had  obtained  over 
herself.  But,  some  children  have  weak  voices,  and  cannot 
read  so  loud  as  their  fellows.  The  teacher  must,  therefore, 
be  careful  to  favor  such  voices,  and,  while  he  endeavors 
gradually  to  strengthen  them,  he  must  not  rudely  break  or 
injure  them  by  requiring  too  great  an  effort  at  first. 


18  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

I  am  persuaded  that  nothing  but  the  incompetency  of 
teachers  has  led  to  the  preparation  of  various  series  of  reading 
books,  intended,  as  far  as  possible,  to  help  the  pupil  to  learn 
independently  of  the  master.  Perhaps  these  books  are  doing 
a  good  work  by  calling  the  attention  of  the  teacher  to  what 
he  would  otherwise  neglect,  but  my  experience  satisfies  me 
that,  if  the  teacher  knows  how  to  read,  those  aids  in  which 
many  school  books  abound,  are  worse  than  useless,  because 
positively  injurious. 

The  competent  teacher  needs  but  two  rules  by  which  to  be 
guided  in  teaching  his  pupils  to  read.  He  must  make  them 
understand  what  is  to  be  read,  and  then  require  them  to  read 
naturally.  To  expect  a  child  to  read  what  he  does  not 
understand  is  unreasonable,  and  yet  nothing  is  more  common. 
Until  very  lately,  teachers  were  generally  accustomed  to  pay 
no  attention  to  the  explanation  of  such  pieces  as  are  found  in 
School  Readers,  and  turned  their  attention  almost  entirely 
to  the  pauses  and  the  pronunciation ;  important  points,  to  be 
sure,  but  by  no  means  the  life-giving  elements  of  good 
reading. 

The  teacher  should  consult  all  the  practical  works  on  the 
art  of  reading,  but,  as  far  as  my  observation  goes,  it  is  idle  to 
put  marks  and  rules  and  directions,  whether  by  words  or 
characters,  into  books  intended  to  be  read  by  children,  for  the 
plain  reason  that  they  seldom  or  never  use  them.  The  chief 
reading-book,  when  I  was  at  school,  was  Scott's  Lessons,  and 
this  was  furnished  with  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  pages  of  what 
were  called  Lessons  in  Elocution  ;  but  I  never  was  required 
to  read  a  word  of  them,  and  they  were  never  explained  to  me, 
yet  they  cumbered  the  book,  and  increased  its  price  one 
quarter  at  least.  I  am  told  by  teachers  that  the  same  is  the 
case  with  more  modern  books. 

The  child  should,  for  a  general  rule,  see  as  few  things  in 
school  books,  that  he  will  not  see  in  other  books,  as  possible  ; 
for,  when  he  leaves  school,  and  the  helps  are  withdrawn,  he 
will  be  the  less  able  to  go  alone,  the  more  he  has  trusted  to 
such  aids.  In  conversation,  children  have  no  such  assistance, 
and  need  none.  They  know  what  they  say,  and  what  they 
mean,  and  the  pauses,  emphasis,  and  inflections,  are  made 
without  any  effort,  without  any  guide.  To  a  great  degree 
this  would  be  the  case  in  reading,  if  they  fully  understood  the 
meaning  of  the  piece,  and  the  object  of  the  writer.  Not 
many  months  ago,  I  visited  a  primary  school  where  the  read- 


BEADING.  19 

ing  was  entirely  artificial.  A  girl,  about  eight  years  old,  read 
a  portion  of  a  story  which  was  chiefly  dialogue,  and  she  not 
only  read  both  parts  of  the  dialogue  in  a  monotone,  but  in  a 
monotone  of  the  most  unpleasant  kind,  for  it  was  at  the  top 
of  a  disagreeably  shrill  voice.  When  she  had  done,  I  took 
the  book  and  read  a  portion  of  it  just  as  she  had  done,  and 
when  she  and  the  whole  class  began  to  laugh,  I,  with  the 
greatest  gravity,  asked  them  why  they  laughed.  "  Do  I  not 
read  naturally  ?  "  said  I.  "  No,  sir,"  said  they.  "  But,  do  I 
not  read  as  that  little  miss  did  ? "  "  Yes,  sir,"  said  they. 
"  Well,  would  not  the  little  boy  and  his  mother  in  the  story 
talk  thus  ?  "  said  I.  "  No,  sir,  they  would  laugh  in  each  other's 
faces  if  they  did."  "  Well,"  said  I  to  the  little  girl  who  had 
previously  read,  "  let  me  hear  you  read  it  just  as  the  mother 
and  boy  would  have  spoken  it."  She  did  so,  and  not  a  pause 
or  inflection  needed  correction.  Here  was  a  fault  of  the 
teacher,  and  not  of  the  child.  The  teacher  had  allowed  the 
child,  and  probably  her  whole  school,  to  read  in  this  unnat- 
ural manner,  and  the  children  had  been  led  to  suppose  that 
reading  and  talking  were  different  things  altogether. 

This  fault,  however,  is  not  confined  to  schools.  Most  of 
our  public  readers,  especially  clergymen,  early  acquire  one 
tone  and  manner  for  conversation,  another  for  reading,  espe- 
cially for  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  a  third  for  prayer,  with- 
out any  thing  of  nature  in  either.  I  once  made  this  remark 
to  a  worthy  clergyman,  now  living,  who  offended  beyond  any 
man  I  ever  knew  in  this  respect,  and  his  son-in-law  at  once 
said,  what  I  had  not  dared  to  say  to  him,  "  Thou  art  the 
man."  The  venerable  man  could  hardly  believe  it  of  him- 
self, but  the  hint  was  not  lost,  for  on  the  next  Sabbath,  he 
prayed  and  read  and  preached  in  his  natural  voice,  and  the 
people  said  he  had  never  preached  so  well,  though,  not  know- 
ing the  secret,  they  could  not  tell  what  the  reason  was,  for 
they  had  heard  the  same  sermon  at  least  once  before.  I 
would,  therefore,  have  the  teacher  a  pattern  worthy  of  imita- 
tion, in  this  matter  of  reading,  and  I  would  advise  him  to  read 
much  to  his  pupils.  When  I  was  a  teacher,  I  had  one  exer- 
cise, to  which  more  than  to  any  other  method  of  reading,  I 
owed  my  success  in  this  branch  of  instruction.  I  was  accus- 
tomed to  open  school  every  morning  with  the  reading  of  a 
portion  of  the  Scriptures.  At  first,  I  read  and  required  the 
pupils  to  listen,  but  this  they  did  not  always  do.  Then  I 
required  some  one  or  more  of  them  to  read,  but  this  failed  to 


20  THE    TEACHERS     INSTITUTE. 

interest  the  rest.  Then  I  read  the  verses  alternately  with 
them,  but  this  broke  up  the  connection  of  the  text,  and  often 
produced  a  confusion  of  voices.  At  last  I  hit  upon  a  plan 
which  I  pursued  for  fifteen  years  with  the  happiest  effects.  I 
required  all  the  pupils  to  stand  and  read,  not  with  me,  but 
after  me.  I  read  as  few  words  as  the  sense  or  the  pauses 
allowed ;  and  then  stopping,  they  read  the  same  words,  all 
together,  and,  as  nearly  as  possible,  just  as  I  had  read  them. 
For  instance,  in  reading  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  I  stopped 
at  the  bars,  being  careful  to  give  the  proper  inflection  of  the 
voice,  and  to  see  that  the  whole  school,  which  usually  num- 
bered more  than  a  hundred,  did  the  same. 

"  And  seeing  the  multitudes,  |  he  went  up  into  a  moun- 


tain ;  I  and  when  he  was  set, 
And   he   opened   his   mouth 


his  disciples  came  unto  him.| 
and    taught   them,  |  saying,! 


Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  |  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  |  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  |  for  they  shall  be 
comforted.  |  Blessed  are  the  meek,  |  for  they  shall  inherit 
the  earth,"  |  Sec. 

By  this  method,  all  the  pupils  were  engaged  in  reading,  and 
all  were  attentive.  If  I  stopped  to  correct  an  error  of  pronun- 
ciation, it  was  noticed  by  all ;  if  I  stopped  to  explain  the 
meaning  of  any  word  or  phrase,  all  were  benefited ;  if  1 
stopped  to  ask  a  question,  every  one  was  ready  to  answer ; 
finally,  if  I  stopped  to  give  any  moral  or  religious  instruction, 
I  was  generally  sure  of  a  very  attentive  audience.  By 
requiring  every  pupil  to  read  as  I  did,  without  regard  to  her 
neighbors,  the  most  perfect  harmony  was  preserved,  and  any 
error  produced  a  discord,  which  was  as  easily  detected  as  a 
discord  among  a  choir  of  singers. 

This  attention  was  of  great  advantage ;  but  the  quantity 
read,  and  well  read,  was  a  great  advantage  also.  In  the 
ordinary  way,  a  school  of  a  hundred  pupils  would  only  read 
a  verse  or  two  in  an  hour,  but  by  the  process  I  propose,  every 
child  reads  a  whole  chapter  in  from  five  to  ten  minutes ;  a 
difference  of  practice  that  cannot  but  be  important.  Indeed,  I 
was  satisfied,  after  a  short  experiment,  that,  independent  of 
the  advantage  of  the  exercise  in  a  religious  point  of  view,  the 
pupils  were  actually  advanced  further  by  this  method  than 
by  all  the  other  practice  they  obtained  in  their  classes. 

Another  important  good  resulted  from  this  exercise.  It  is 
well  known  that  many  pious  persons  have  a  serious  objection 
to  having  the  Bible  read  as  a  common  exercise  in  school,  in 


READING.  21 

consequence  of  the  careless  manner  in  which  the  exercise  is 
performed,  the  indifference  of  the  children  to  it,  and  the  dim- 
inution of  respect  for  the  Scriptures,  if  not  distaste  for  them, 
which  is  the  result  of  familiarity. 

I  cannot  discuss  the  question,  "  Whether  it  is  prudent  to 
use  a  part,  and  not  the  whole  of  the  Bible  in  our  schools  ? " 
for,  although  some,  whom  I  reverence,  have  expressed  fears 
lest  the  use  of  a  selection  of  Scripture  Lessons  should  lead 
the  young  to  think  that  the  passages  not  selected  are  less  val- 
uable and  important  than  those  taken,  still  it  is  evident  that 
the  practice  of  the  whole  Christian  world  is  on  the  side  of 
selections.  What  is  the  liturgy  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  the  liturgy  and  psalter  of  the  English  Church  and 
of  our  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  but  a  selection  ?  What 
is  the  custom  of  our  dissenting  clergy,  not  one  in  a  thousand 
of  whom  reads  the  entire  Scriptures  in  course  from  the 
pulpit,  but  making  and  using  a  selection  ?  What,  indeed,  is 
the  practice  of  using  the  New  Testament  in  Sunday  and 
secular  schools,  but  using  a  part  of  the  Bible  because  more 
convenient,  as  well  as  more  generally  interesting  to  the 
young  ?  The  fact  is,  that,  whether  a  selection  is  used  or  not, 
a  selection  is  uniformly  made  by  all  teachers  that  read  the 
Scriptures  in  school ;  and  who  can  hesitate  between  a  selec- 
tion made  at  leisure  with  great  care,  after  much  practice 
in  the  reading  of  Scripture,  and  one  made  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  perhaps  by  one  who  neither  respects  the  Bible,  nor 
can  read  it  decently  ? 

It  was  my  custom  always  to  select  a  passage  before  I  went 
to  school,  and  to  study  it  and  read  it,  until  I  could  do  some 
measure  of  justice  to  it.  Then  I  read  it  to  the  class  as  well 
as  I  could,  and,  by  my  manner,  I  found  it  very  easy  to  impress 
upon  the  minds  of  the  children  the  same  respect  for  the  sacred 
volume  that  I  felt  myself,  and  the  importance  of  this  early 
reverence  cannot  be  overestimated  by  the  parent  and  the 
instructor. 

But  the  selection  of  suitable  passages  required  much  care, 
and  much  time ;  and,  in  case  it  was  necessary  to  skip  any 
portion,  or  turn  to  other  passages  of  similar  import,  it  was 
attended  with  many  disadvantages.  I  contrived  to  do  this, 
however,  for  many  years,  until,  having  gone  through  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  several  times,  and  marked  those 
portions  that  seemed  to  be  best  adapted  to  the  instruction  of 
children  of  both  sexes  in  the  presence  of  each  other,  I  at  last 
collected  these  passages  into  a  small  volume  and  printed 


22  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

them.  As  the  division  into  chapters  and  verses  is  only  use- 
ful for  ready  reference  by  students,  and  is  of  no  use  to  children, 
nay,  is  of  great  disadvantage  to  them,  in  consequence  of  the 
increased  difficulty  of  understanding  the  passage  and  reading 
it  correctly,  I  followed  the  plan  of  the  Paragraph  Bible. 
The  type  used  was  better  than  is  found  in  school  Bibles  and 
testaments  ;  the  punctuation  was  more  carefully  attended  to  , 
and  the  more  emphatical  words  marked  as  usual  by  Italic 
type. 

As  the  selection  was  to  be  used  in  our  common  schools,  the 
text  was  given  unaltered,  with  references  to  the  chapters  and 
verses,  but  without  any  notes  or  commentary.  An  outline 
of  Old  Testament  History  is  given  in  the  order  of  the  com- 
mon version,  but  the  four  evangelists  are  given  in  one  con- 
nected narrative,  according  to  Townsend's  chronological 
arrangement.  Then,  as  many  beautiful  passages  are  scattered 
over  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  too  short  of  themselves  for 
a  reading  lesson,  but  excellent  for  this  purpose  when  classed 
with  other  passages  of  similar  import,  one  third  of  the  book 
consists  of  passages  so  selected,  and  arranged  under  various 
heads,  such  as  "  Reverence  for  God,"  "  Love  to  God  and 
Man,"  "  Heavenly  Wisdom,"  "  Sublimity  of  the  Scriptures," 
&c.  This  selection,  called  the  BIBLE  READER,  has  met  with 
much  favor  from  teachers  and  clergymen,  many  of  whom 
have  confessed  to  me  that  it  produced,  in  their  hands,  all  the 
delightful  effects  that  I  have  myself  witnessed.  As  to  the 
fairness  with  which  the  selection  has  been  made,  I  can  only 
say  that  it  has  met  the  approbation  of  every  denomination  of 
Christians  that  use  the  Scriptures,  and  this  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  for  the  manuscript  was  subjected  to  the  severest 
scrutiny  before  it  was  put  to  the  press. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  matter  contained  in  school  read- 
ing books,  and  a  great  mistake,  I  think,  prevails  on  this  subject. 
The  imperfect  way  in  which  reading  has  been  taught,  in  so 
far  as  little  or  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  explain  the  text, 
has  led  many  teachers  and  school  committees  to  suppose  that 
the  selections  were  above  the  comprehension  of  children  ;  but 
I  have  never  seen  such  a  selection,  and  do  not  believe  that 
any  such  exists. 

Another  mistake  is  made  by  those  who  suppose  that  a  book 
is  unfit  for  use  because  it  has  been  in  use  so  long.  This 
objection,  in  my  opinion,  will  lie  only  against  such  books  as 
are  brought  down  to  the  capacity  of  children,  so  that  they 


HEADING.  23 

need  no  study,  no  explanation.  It  seems  to  me  that  books 
which  are  to  be  read  more  than  once  should  be  so  constructed 
that  at  every  successive  reading  the  master  may  have  some- 
thing new  to  explain,  and  the  pupil  something  new  to  learn ; 
and,  as  the  old  book  is  new  to  new  classes,  and  can  be  more 
effectually  taught  the  better  it  can  be  read  and  explained  by 
the  teacher,  the  older  the  book  the  better,  if  it  was  a  good  one 
at  first.  It  is  a  favorite  notion  of  some  excellent  friends  of 
education  that  the  reading  lessons  in  our  common  schools 
should  be  mainly  selected  with  a  view  to  the  imparting  of 
useful  knowledge,  and  the  inculcation  of  virtuous  sentiments. 
To  a  certain  degree  this  plan  may  be  adopted,  but  in  every 
case  in  which  it  has  been  fully  carried  out,  it  has  failed.  We 
have  had  Peace  Keaders,  Temperance  Readers,  Agricultural 
Readers,  Scientific  Readers,  Religious  Readers,  &c.,  &c.,  and 
these  one-idea  books  have  contained  much  that  is  valuable;  but 
they  have  always  failed  to  make  good  readers,  in  the  highest 
sense  of  the  term  good.  Reading  is  an  art,  a  glorious  art, 
which  can  no  more  be  learned  or  taught  from  humdrum  books 
of  science  or  from  moral  essays,  than  English  composition  can 
be  learned  by  the  perusal  of  Murray's  Grammar. 

In  Massachusetts  and  New  York,  the  legislature  has  pro- 
vided a  large  supply  of  useful  reading  in  the  school  libraries, 
which  have  been  established  in  the  districts.  The  books  thus 
provided  are  no  doubt  intended  to  furnish  the  knowledge  which 
no  school  Reader,  made  or  to  be  made,  can  supply  to  any  con- 
siderable degree,  while  they  enable  the  class  books  to  be  more 
fully  adapted  to  teach  something  more  of  reading  than  the  mere 
pronunciation  of  words,  and  the  dull  monotony,  which  are  about 
all  that  the  reading  of  a  scientific  tract  requires.  Books  of 
useful  knowledge  should  be  read,  but  not  at  school.  The  few 
minutes  devoted  each  day  to  reading,  if  spent  only  upon  the 
most  suitable  books,  will  hardly  suffice  to  make  good  readers; 
and  it  is  with  reading,  as  with  spelling,  if  the  necessary  knowl- 
edge and  practice  are  not  obtained  at  school,  there  is  but  little 
chance  of  their  ever  being  obtained  afterward.  I  think  I  have 
never  known  a  good  reader  who  was  contented  to  teach  from 
such  books ;  and  if  good  readers  with  poor  tools  can  effect  but 
little,  what  can  be  expected  when  both  the  teacher  and  the  tools 
are  bad  ?  All  the  popular  books  with  which  I  am  acquainted 
contain  a  due  proportion  of  moral  and  useful  pieces,  and  when 
two  essays  have  equal  merit  as  reading  pieces,  if  one  contains 
more  useful  knowledge  than  the  other,  I  should  by  all  means 
give  it  the  preference  ;  but  the  cultivation  of  the  taste  and  of  the 


24  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

imagination  is  as  useful  and  as  important  as  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge,  and  any  system  of  education  that  does  not 
recognize  this  truth  must  be  greatly  defective. 

If  I  were  to  name  what  I  consider  the  great  deficiency  of 
our  best  school  books,  I  should  say,  the  want  of  a  just  proportion 
of  dialogues.  These  are  best  understood  by  children,  are 
read  more  naturally,  and  with  more  animation  ;  and,  as  the 
inflections  of  the  voice  are  more  various  than  in  any  other 
class  of  compositions,  they  are  peculiarly  useful  to  the  good 
teacher.  I  had  a  variety  of  such  books  in  my  school  library, 
from  which  my  pupils  occasionally  read,  and  in  no  other 
exercise  did  they  seem  to  take  so  much  interest,  or  show  their 
power  so  distinctly.  If  possible,  dialogues  should  be  read  by 
as  many  pupils  as  there  are  characters,  and  each  should  read 
his  part  without  changing  it,  for  in  this  way  he  enters  better 
into  the  spirit  of  the  piece,  and  makes  the  sentiments  his 
own. 

It  is  a  misfortune  that  so  few  dialogues  are  to  be  found  in 
our  school  books  ;  and  this  deficiency,  rather  than  any  ambi- 
tion to  be  a  writer,  induced  the  author  a  few  years  ago  to 
publish  a  volume  of  Familiar  Dialogues,  that  he  had  com- 
posed for  the  use  of  his  pupils.  He  also  published  a  small 
book  for  beginners,  called  the  Primary  Reader,  which  had 
the  same  object  in  view,  and  contains  more  dialogues  and 
lively  pieces  than  any  other  book  intended  for  the  same  class 
of  children.  In  schools  where  other  books  are  used  as  text- 
oooks,  the  teacher  will  do  well  to  have  one  or  two  copies  of 
the  Primary  Reader  and  the  Familiar  Dialogues,  in  which 
the  child  can  read  occasionally  by  way  of  reward,  or  for  the 
sake  of  variety. 

Besides  the  method  of  Scripture  Reading  that  I  have 
described,  I  had  various  other  methods,  which  I  will  endeavor 
briefly  to  describe. 

Before  requiring  a  class  to  read  the  paragraphs  consecu- 
tively, I  sometimes  selected  a  single  paragraph,  or  short 
piece,  and  let  every  member  of  the  class  read  it  in  rotation. 
After  the  first  had  read,  I  would  call  on  such  of  the  class  as 
had  noticed  any  fault  to  hold  up  their  hands.  I  then  heard 
their  criticisms,  one  at  a  time,  and  made  such  remarks  as 
seemed  necessary,  especially  such  as  explained  the  meaning 
of  the  author.  The  next  pupil  then  read,  and  was  criticised 
in  the  same  manner,  and  so  on  through  the  class.  My  cus- 
tom was  to  grant  precedence  to  those  who  made  important 


READING.  25 

corrections,  for  I  never  saw  any  evil  resulting  from  this  prac- 
tice that  at  all  balanced  the  good  produced  by  the  earnest 
attention  it  called  forth.  Suppose  the  class  to  consist  of  A,  B, 
C,  D,  E,  F,  G.  Let  A  read.  If  D  holds  up  his  hand  and 
points  out  any  fault,  he  goes  above  A.  B,  C,  and  E,  do  not 
hold  up  their  hands.  F  holds  up  his  hand,  but  he  miscor- 
rects,  and  in  this  case  goes  down  one.  This  check  is  neces- 
sary, or  the  teacher  will  be  too  much  interrupted.  The  class 
then  stands  thus,  D,  A,  B,  C,  E,  G,  F.  D  reads  next,  and, 
when  called  on,  C  and  F  raise  their  hands.  C  points  out  an 
important  error  in  pronunciation  and  goes  to  the  head.  F 
detects  a  wrong  inflection  of  the  voice,  and  goes  next  to  C. 
The  class  then  stands  thus,  C,  F,  D,  A,  B,  E,  G.  Then  C 
reads,  and  A,  B  and  E  hold  up  hands.  A  makes  a  judi- 
cious correction  and  goes  to  the  head.  B  miscorrects  once, 
and  once  points  out  a  real  error,  and  he  neither  goes  up  nor 
down.  E  detects  an  error  and  goes  next  above  C.  Then  the 
class  stands  thus,  A,  E,  C,  F,  D,  B,  G. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  further,  for  the  teacher  must  under- 
stand the  process.  Sometimes,  instead  of  requiring  each 
pupil  to  read  the  same  paragraph,  I  required  each  to  take  a 
new  passage.  This  may  seem  to  afford  the  pupils  a  more 
equal  chance,  but  I  have  generally  found  that,  even  when 
they  all  read  the*  same  passage,  they  made  as  many  faults 
as  we  had  time  to  correct,  and  before  we  left  the  paragraph, 
it  was  better  read  and  better  understood  than  if  it  had  only 
been  read  once. 

Another  mode  was  to  require  each  pupil  to  read  the  same 
piece,  without  any  correction  by  the  class  or  by  the  teacher. 
Then,  after  some  general  remarks  upon  the  piece,  its  mean- 
ing, design,  &c.,  I  read  the  piece  myself  to  the  class.  This 
method  generally  commands  the  full  attention  of  the  class, 
who  should  be  called  on  promiscuously  and  not  in  the  order 
in  which  they  stand  ;  but  it  is  better  calculated  for  reviewing, 
where  the  object  is  not  so  much  to  teach,  as  to  ascertain  the 
comparative  ability  of  the  readers. 

A  third  method  was  to  set  a  reading  lesson,  and  require 
the  pupils  to  be  prepared  to  give  the  meaning  of  every  difficult 
word,  if  the  class  were  young ;  but,  if  older,  they  were  also 
required  to  give  the  sense  intended  by  the  author ;  to  point 
out  figures  of  speech,  and  even  to  analyze  all  compound 
words,  or  words  having  a  prefix  or  affix  in  their  composition. 
The  reading  lesson  affords  the  best  opportunity  for  teaching 

o 


26  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

the  meaning  of  words,  and  the  skilful  teacher  will  improve 
it.  The  too  common  method  of  learning  pages  of  the  dic- 
tionary, is  almost  useless,  for  there  is  nothing  to  fix  the 
definitions  in  the  memory,  and  they  are  often  various  and 
contradictory,  and  more  unintelligible  than  the  word  is  with- 
out them  ;  but,  in  the  reading  lesson,  where  the  word  is  cor- 
rectly used,  it  may  be  accurately  defined,  and  impressed 
upon  the  memory  by  its  association  in  the  sentence.  There 
is  no  harm  in  requiring  the  pupil  to  spell  the  difficult  words 
as  well  as  to  define  them,  but  the  teacher  must  be  careful  not 
to  rely  upon  such  a  spelling  lesson,  except  for  review,  for  the 
reading  books  will  not  contain  half  the  words  that  the  child 
should  be  taught  to  spell ;  he  will  never  know  what  he  has 
learned,  and  in  what  he  is  deficient ;  and  the  entire  absence 
of  system  or  classification  will  prevent  him  from  learning 
what  are  the  rules  of  English  orthography.  I  have  even 
doubted  whether  the  selection  of  words,  which  is  placed  at  the 
beginning  of  the  lessons  in  some  reading  books,  is  not  a  posi- 
tive evil,  for  it  prevents  the  child,  in  a  great  measure,  from 
using  his  intellect,  in  ascertaining  the  meaning,  and  throws 
him  almost  entirely  upon  his  verbal  memory,  which  will 
probably  fail  him  before  he  has  learned  the  next  lesson. 

Another  method  which  I  sometimes  used  had  often  a  very 
good  effect.  I  would  read  to  the  class,  and  occasionally  mis- 
pronounce a  word,  place  the  emphasis  wrong,  or  give  a 
wrong  inflection.  I  would  then  call  on  the  class  for  correc- 
tions, and  generally  they  would  be  more  on  the  alert,  than  if 
the  object  were  merely  to  discover  an  error  of  one  of  their 
companions. 

But,  after  all,  the  best  thing  a  teacher  can  do,  for  his  own 
improvement  and  that  of  his  pupils,  is  to  read  much  to  them, 
and  as  well  as  he  can.  He  must  study  the  lessons  in  the 
textbook,  and  make  his  pupils  understand  them.  The  Bible 
contains  a  prescription  for  good  reading  of  more  value  than  all 
the  slides,  and  accents,  and  other  contrivances  to  make  good 
readers,  that  ever  were  invented.  I  give  the  passage,  and 
commend  it  to  the  practice  of  teachers,  even  to  the  opening 
of  the  book  and  the  standing  up. 

Nehemiah  viii.  5.  "  And  Ezra  opened  the  Book  in  the 
sight  of  all  the  people,  and  when  he  opened  it,  all  the  people 
stood  up.  *  *  *  *  So  they  read  in  the  Book  of  the  Law  of 
God  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  [the  people]  to 
understand  the  reading." 


SPELLING. 

IT  has  been  shown  already  that  I  should  connect  spelling 
and  reading  with  writing,  from  the  very  outset.  As  soon  as 
the  child  can  pronounce  the  alphabet,  on  my  plan,  he  will  be 
able  to  write  it,  and  then,  as  he  advances,  he  must  continue  to 
write  all  the  spelling  lessons,  and  as  much  of  the  reading  les- 
ions as  time  will  admit.  But,  as  this  method  requires  a  better 
knowledge  of  writing  than  is  commonly  found  in  our  schools, 
especially  in  the  lowest  classes,  I  shall  endeavor  to  describe  my 
method  of  teaching  the  art  of  writing,  by  which  I  never  failed 
to  make  my  pupils  write  any  thing  they  could  read,  and  write 
it  well  too,  though  often  less  than  five  years  of  age. 

On  the  wall,  back  of  my  desk,  or  in  some  other  handy  and 
conspicuous  place,  I  had  a  long  and  narrow  black-board,  ruled 
in  the  manner  described  hereafter  under  the  head  of  Writing. 
The  lines  were  slightly  cut  into  the  board  before  it  was 
painted,  and  though  distinctly  visible  afterwards,  they  did  not 
disfigure  any  writing  that  was  executed  over  them.  Every 
child  had  a  slate  ruled  exactly  like  the  black-board,  and  the 
first  copies  set  for  the  pupils  were  written  before  their  eyes  on 
the  board,  and  copied  upon  their  slates.  All  my  pupils  could 
print  before  they  could  write,  but  the  transition  to  writing  was 
so  easy,  and  done  so  early,  that  they  seemed  to  write  as  fast 
as  they  learned  to  read  and  spell  and  print. 

I  believe  I  was  the  first  teacher  in  Boston  that  required 
children  of  four  years  of  age  to  write,  and  it  often  struck 
visitors  with  wonder  to  see  children  at  five,  writing  a  good 
hand,  with  great  despatch,  when  it  was  a  rare  thing  elsewhere 
to  find  children  seven  years  old  able  to  read  a  word  of  manu- 
script, much  less  to  write  well,  without  a  pattern,  as  all  my 
little  pupils  did.  It  is  less  rare  to  see  little  children  writing 
now-a-days,  but,  when,  within  a  year,  I  have  proposed  to 
teachers  to  require  children  of  seven  and  eight  to  write  their 
spelling  lessons,  I  have  been  told  either  that  they  could  not 
write,  or  that  it  would  take  them  all  day  to  write  a  lesson  of 
fifty  words.  My  pupils  would  write  fifty  words  of  four  sylla- 
bles in  less  than  twenty  minutes,  and  write  them  well  too. 


28  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

The  despatch  acquired  by  thus  writing  on  the  slate,  and  the 
free  motion  of  the  hand,  were  important  points  gained  by  this 
method,  preparatory  to  using  the  pen. 

When  the  object  was  merely  to  teach  writing  to  beginners, 
my  custom  was  to  call  the  attention  of  the  class  to  the  black- 
board, and  then  to  say,  "  I  wish  you  to  draw  a  straight  but 
leaning  line,  from  this  line  to  this,"  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word.  Or,  "  I  wish  you  to  begin  an  0  here  and  end  it  so," 
describing  and  demonstrating  every  step  as  I  advanced.  If 
encouraged,  I  shall  soon  prepare  boards,  slates  and  books,  and 
a  manual  for  instruction  on  this  plan,  and,  therefore,  shall 
not  be  more  particular,  especially  as  my  object  now  is  to  show 
how  spelling  may  be  taught  by  writing,  and  not  how  writing 
itself  may  be  taught. 

The  author  was  glad  to  perceive  that  of  the  thousand 
teachers  whom  he  has  met  at  Teachers'  Institutes,  nineteen 
twentieths  were  tolerable  penmen,  and  if  those  he  saw  are 
not  more  than  a  fair  specimen  of  the  teachers  of  our  district 
schools,  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  every  child,  in 
every  school,  should  not  be  a  good  penman  at  a  very  early 
age.  The  immense  advantage  of  this  acquisition  to  the  chil- 
dren cannot  be  overrated,  d>r,  besides  the  mechanical  skill, 
the  child  has  a  means  of  constant  employment,  which  will 
keep  him  out  of  idleness  and  mischief,  and  the  teacher  can 
make  this  skill  bear  upon  almost  every  exercise  in  other 
branches  of  instruction.  In  Boston,  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  writing  was  entirely  separated  from  every  other 
branch  except  Arithmetic,  to  which  it  administers  less  aid, 
perhaps,  than  to  any  other  study ;  but,  of  late,  one  or  two 
other  branches  have  been  added  to  those  taught  in  the  writing 
schools,  although  orthography,  grammar  and  composition  are 
still  taught  in  a  separate  room,  by  other  teachers,  who  are 
not  required  to  teach  penmanship.  This  separation  of  things 
so  nearly  allied,  has  never  been  attempted  in  the  district 
schools  out  of  Boston,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  it  never  will  be 
introduced  there. 

But,  let  us  return  to  Orthography,  and  describe  some  of 
the  processes  by  which  it  may  be  connected  with  writing. 

If  the  teacher  is  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  monitors,  or 
is  not  allowed  to  use  his  better  pupils  as  assistants,  he  may 
require  every  class  to  write  every  word  of  the  spelling  lesson 
upon  the  slate,  on  the  lines  that  correspond  to  those  on  the 
black-board,  in  which  case,H>ut  few  words  can  be  written 


SPELLING.  29 

at  a  time.  This  is  better,  while  the  hand  is  forming,  than  to 
require  the  whole  lesson  to  be  written  in  smaller  letters,  on  that 
side  of  the  slate  which  is  not  ruled.  If  he  cannot  find  time 
to  examine  every  slate,  the  mere  writing  of  the  words  will  be 
of  great  service  to  the  learners  ;  but  the  active  teacher  will 
contrive  some  way  to  examine  every  slate,  and  to  mark  the 
errors.  If  the  words  are  written  in  a  large  hand  on  the  ruled 
lines,  he  can,  at  a  signal,  have  all  the  slates  held  up  by  the 
pupils  so  that  he  can  see  them ;  or,  if  the  desks  are  so  con- 
structed that  he  can  pass  behind  the  pupils,  he  can  easily 
walk  around  and  correct  them.  But,  if  the  teacher  is  allowed 
to  use  his  pupils  as  assistants  in  such  matters  as  may  safely 
be  taught  by  them,  all  the  words  may  be  dictated,  and 
promptly  examined,  without  interruption  to  the  teacher,  who 
may  be  otherwise  engaged. 

Suppose  the  teacher  to  have  heard  a  recitation  of  one  class, 
and  to  have  called  out  another,  which  is  to  recite  to  him.  If 
he  wishes  to  keep  those  who  are  at  their  seats  employed  in 
writing  their  spelling  lessons,  he  can  appoint  one  well-behaved 
scholar  to  dictate  the  words  from  the  spelling  book,  and  to 
inspect  the  slates,  book  in  hand.  My  pupils  were  arranged  in 
rows,  each  row  perhaps  forming  a  class.  Between  each  row 
there  was  room  for  a  person  to  pass.  If  there  were  several 
classes,  the  monitor,  as  the  assistant  pupil  was  called,  had  a 
mark  in  his  spelling  book  at  each  of  their  lessons.  He  then 
dictated  the  first  word  of  the  lesson  to  the  highest  class,  by 
spelling  it  distinctly.  They  began  to  write  it,  and  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  next  row  or  class,  and  dictated  a  word  of  their 
lesson  by  spelling  it  aloud.  They  began  to  write,  and  he 
went  to  the  next  class,  and  so  on.  By  the  time  he  had  dic- 
tated a  word  to  the  lowest  class,  the  highest  was  ready  for 
another ;  he  gave  them  one,  and  proceeded  to  the  next  as 
before.  As  soon  as  they  had  written  as  many  words  as  the 
lines  on  the  slate  admitted,  he  walked  behind  and  examined 
the  slates  ;  or,  he  told  each  pupil  to  change  slates  with  some 
neighbor,  or  to  compare  slates ;  or,  if  there  was  not  time  for 
this,  he  ordered  all  to  clean  slates  at  a  signal  given,  and  then 
prepare  to  write  another  slate  full. 

It  is  a  grievous  evil  that  so  few  of  our  common  district 
schools  have  the  seats  so  constructed  that  the  teacher  can  get 
at  his  pupils  so  as  to  inspect  their  work  ;  and,  where  this  evil 
exists,  the  ingenuity  of  the  teacher  will  be  severely  tried. 
But,  as  I  have  said  before,  if  the  pupil  writes  the  words 
3* 


30  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

quietly  from  the  book,  or  from  the  dictation  of  a  monitor,  he 
will  be  greatly  benefited,  whether  his  work  is  examined  or 
not.  In  many  cases,  the  teacher  will  be  able  to  direct  this 
exercise  himself;  and  practice  will  enable  him  to  overcome 
many  obstacles,  which,  at  first,  may  seem  insurmountable. 

By  thus  writing  the  word,  the  eye  as  well  as  the  ear  is 
trained,  and  a  child  thus  taught  is  in  little  danger  of  exhibit- 
ing that  common  phenomenon  of  correctly  spelling  even  the 
hardest  words  orally,  and  of  misspelling  the  most  common 
words  when  called  upon  to  write  them.  Every  teacher 
knows  that  children  unaccustomed  to  write  do  this,  and  yet 
how  few  have  applied  the  only  remedy  ! 

In  oral  spelling,  or  in  written,  of  course  it  is  important 
what  words  are  spelled,  and  in  what  order  they  are  presented 
to  the  child.  A  few  years  ago,  at  a  convention  of  teachers 
and  friends  of  education  in  Berkshire  County,  it  was  unan- 
imously voted  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  convention  that,  for 
twenty  or  more  years,  spelling  had  been  retrograding  in  our 
schools.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  this  fact ;  but  as  I  have 
endeavored  to  account  for  it  in  the  Lecture  on  Memory  that 
forms  a  part  of  this  volume,  I  shall  not  enlarge  upon  the  sub- 
ject here  any  further  than  to  remark,  that,  in  my  visits  to  the 
Teachers'  Institutes  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  I  have 
uniformly  found  the  young  teachers  more  deficient  in  spelling 
than  in  any  other  branch  of  study,  and  I  rarely  found  one 
who  had  been  educated  to  write  words,  and  to  require  his 
pupils  to  do  so. 

Very  soon  after  I  became  a  teacher,  I  felt  the  necessity  of 
a  spelling  book  that  should  present  the  words  of  our  language 
so  classed  and  arranged,  that,  without  knowing  it,  the  pupil 
should  become  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  English  orthog- 
raphy and  pronunciation  ;  and,  by  the  aid  of  association, 
should  have  the  form  of  words  indelibly  impressed  upon  his 
memory.  Although  oppressed  with  labor,  I  then  prepared  a 
small  spelling  book,  called  the  Improved  Guide,  which 
answered  my  purpose  better  than  any  other,  and  which,  a  few 
years  ago,  when  I  had  more  leisure  and  experience,  was 
enlarged  into  my  "Common  School  Speller."  This  Improved 
Spelling  Book  has  met  with  a  reception  unexampled,  I  think, 
in  this  country,  for  the  annual  sale,  only  the  third  year  after 
its  publication,  exceeded  40,000  copies. 

In  the  selection  of  words  for  the  Speller,  great  care  was 
taken  not  to  admit  any  that  were  unsuitable  in  any  respect, 


SPELLING.  31 

and  yet  the  vocabulary  is  intended  to  contain  all  words  that 
a  well  educated  young  gentleman  should  be  acquainted  with, 
and  able  to  spell.  To  explain  the  classification,  I  know  not 
that  it  will  be  unfair  to  say  that  there  is  as  much  difference 
between  this  and  other  spelling  books  as"  between  order  and 
confusion.  In  other  spelling  books,  to  be  sure,  there  is  a  sort 
of  order,  but  it  is  rarely  calculated  to  aid  the  eye  or  the  mem- 
ory of  the  pupil.  Some  definition  spelling  books,  as  they  are 
called,  place  the  words  alphabetically,  as  they  are  placed  in 
dictionaries,  but  in  such  books  the  words  are  no  more  classed 
than  are  the  buildings  in  a  long  street  that  happen  to  be  con- 
secutively numbered.  Such  an  arrangement  may  enable  the 
child  to  find  a  word  easily,  but  it  affords  him  no  aid  in  learn- 
ing to  spell. 

In  other  spelling  books,  the  words  are  arranged  according 
to  the  number  of  syllables  they  contain,  but  such  words  are 
no  more  classed  than  the  lower  animals  would  be  if  arranged 
according  to  their  different  sizes,  when  the  real  differences  of 
form  and  structure  are  disregarded. 

In  the  best  spelling  books,  those  which  are  the  most  popu- 
lar, the  words  are  placed  very  promiscuously  ;  but  the  authors 
seem  to  think  they  have  rendered  a  strict  classification 
unnecessary,  because  they  have  placed  over  each  word  some 
accent,  figure,  or  other  mark,  referring  to  a  key,  where  the 
pronunciation  is  explained.  But,  who  does  not  see  that 
words  so  situated  and  marked  are  no  more  classed  than  the 
scattered  plants  of  a  flower-garden  that  happen  to  be  labelled. 
The  difference  between  my  spelling  book  and  such  as  I  have 
described  may  be  illustrated  by  a  very  familiar  comparison. 
Every  one  probably  has  seen  what  in  Massachusetts  is  called 
a  General  Muster,  when  all  the  troops  of  a  brigade  are 
assembled  on  a  spacious  field  for  review  and  exercise.  Before 
they  are  called  to  order,  the  members  of  the  various  com- 
panies, wearing  different  uniforms,  are  intermixed  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  spectators  can  form  no  idea  of  the  number  of 
companies,  to  say  nothing  of  getting  acquainted  with  each 
individual  soldier.  It  is  true  that  each  soldier  wears  a  knap- 
sack on  which  the  spectator  may  read  the  name  of  the  com- 
pany, and  perhaps  of  the  regiment,  to  which  he  belongs  ;  but, 
even  with  this  aid,  he  can  have  but  a  confused  idea  of  the 
number  and  variety  of  the  troops.  Let  the  drum  then  call  to 
order,  and  the  line  be  formed,  and  one  glance  will  enable  the 
spectator  to  judge  of  every  particular  relating  to  the  troops. 


32  THE   TEACHERS'   INSTITUTE. 

But  it  has  been  objected  to  my  book  that  where  the  words 
are  so  exactly  classed,  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  one  from 
another  of  the  same  class,  and,  therefore,  it  seems  better  to 
have  them  in  confusion.  When  they  are  learning  to  spell, 
it  is  said,  if  they  can  spell  one  word  of  the  class  they  can 
spell  all  the  rest  too  easily,  and  they  will  not  be  likely  to 
distinguish  between  the  words,  because  they  look  so  much 
alike.  Now,  if  the  objection  have  any  force,  it  will  lie 
against  classification  in  every  science,  as  well  as  against  the 
classification  of  words.  Linnaeus  owes  his  immortality  to  the 
fact  that,  when  the  various  plants  and  animals  were  running 
all  over  creation  with  labels  on  their  backs,  like  the  words  in 
a  "  promiscuously  arranged  "  spelling  book,  he  discovered  their 
points  of  resemblance,  classed  them,  and  enabled  his  suc- 
cessors to  learn  in  one  year  what  before  was  the  work  of  a 
life.  Because  two  varieties  of  the  helix,  or  snail,  very  nearly 
resemble  each  other,  shall  we  put  an  oyster  between  them  to 
set  them  off?  Or,  because  two  roses  resemble  each  other  very 
nearly,  shall  we  place  a  sunflower  between  them  ?  We  shall, 
if  this  objection  has  any  force.  It  must  be  a  mistake,  then,  to 
suppose  that  it  is  not  safer  to  examine  words  that  resemble 
each  other  side  by  side,  where  only  the  point  of  difference 
needs  to  be  noticed,  than  to  examine  them  apart  from  each 
other,  independently,  in  which  case  it  is  necessary  to  observe 
every 'peculiarity  of  every  word, — those  in  which  they  agree 
as  well  a,s  those  in  which  they  differ. 

In  the  year  1841,  the  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
Board  of  Education  delivered  a  lecture  on  the  subject  of 
spelling  books,  and  having  fallen  accidentally  upon  my  old 
one,  "  The  Improved  Guide"  he  made  the  following  remarks, 
which  are  entitled  to  more  weight  than  common  notices  of 
books,  because  I  had  not  sent  him  the  book,  and  had  never 
spoken  to  him,  or  seen  him. 

"  When,"  says  Mr.  Mann,  "  reading  has  become  easy,  and 
it  is  expedient  to  carry  forward  the  orthography  of  the  language 
faster  than  it  is  possible  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  all  its 
words,  a  spelling  book,  constructed  according  to  the  law  of 
association,  should  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  pupil. 
Although  this  idea  has  been  acted  upon  to  some  extent  before, 
yet  the  only  spelling  book  with  which  I  am  acquainted  that 
carries  it  out  fully  is  one  prepared  by  Mr.  Fowle,  of  Boston. 
A  few  specimens  from  the  book  will  give  an  intelligible  view 
of  its  plan."  After  giving  the  specimens,  Mr.  Mann  adds, 


SPELLING.  33 

"  Now,  it  would  seem  to  need  no  argument  to  prove  that  a 
child  will  master  twenty  pages  of  words  arranged  in  this  way 
more  easily  than  he  will  a  single  page  of  words  classed 
according  to  the  number  of  syllables,  and  the  place  of  the 
accent,  irrespective  of  their  formation  ;  —  where  a  and  eigk,  e 
and  eo,  i  and  igh,  o  and  eau,  u  and  ew,  with  countless  other 
combinations,  have  respectively  the  same  sound,  and  are 
jumbled  together  after  the  similitude  of  chaos.  On  such  les- 
sons as  these,  scholars  will  very  rarely  spell  wrong.  They 
can  go  through  the  book  twenty  times  while  they  would  go 
through  a  common  spelling  book  once ;  and  each  time  will 
rivet  the  association ;  that  is,  it  will  make  an  ally  of  the  most 
unconquerable  force  of  habit.  A  connection  will  be  established 
between  the  general  idea  of  the  word  and  its  component  letters, 
which  it  will  be  nearly  impossible  to  dissolve."  After  more 
remarks  in  the  same  strain,  this  sagacious  observer,  as  if  antici- 
pating the  objection  under  consideration,  says,  after  having 
recommended  the  frequent  spelling  and  writing  also  of  the 
words  thus  classed,  "  It  will  be  well,  as  a  testing  or  experi- 
mental exercise,  to  put  out  words  from  the  different  tables 
promiscuously,  in  order  to  determine  whether  or  not  it  may 
be  necessary  to  drill  the  pupils  longer  upon  it."  And  what 
is  this  but  saying,  that  spelling  should  be  taught  by  the  well 
classed  spelling  book,  and  all  the  chaotic  ones  should  be  used 
only  by  way  of  review  ? 

To  show  that  this  matter  is  not  overstated,  let  us  take  a 
fair  example  from  one  of  our  popular  spelling  books,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  this  will  not  be  deemed  invidious,  since  the 
object  is  only  to  show  the  operation  of  the  two  plans.  In  one 
of  them,  then,  I  find  the  following  column  of  words,  printed 
just  as  I  give  them. 

The  child  has  been  told  in  the  introduction  that  letters  in 
Italic  are  not  to  be  sounded,  and  the  figures  refer  the  child 
to  the  key  which  is  printed  over  the  lesson.  Let  it  be  recol- 
lected that  the  child  always  studies  the  lesson  before  he  hears 
the  words  pronounced  by  the  teacher  ;  and  with  no  other  aid 
than  the  figures,  and  the  Italic  letters,  how  will  he  succeed  in 
finding  the  pronunciation  of  the  several  words  ?  and  how 
much  will  the  variety  aid  him  in  remembering  how  to  spell 
them? 


34 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


18345  1489  148      10  135 

late  far  fall  bat  wad  —  mete  met  her  they  —  time  tin  sir  pique  —  tone  for  not 

678  147  1  14 

do  look  love  —  mute  cut  full  —  new  —  dry  hymn. 


1 

4 

i 

4 

i 

6 

fuse 

melt 

strain 

stretch 

twain 

two 

free 

frank 

teal 

duck 

i 

oi 

goad 

prick 

teat 

dug 

fay 

join 

grade 

rank 

trail 

track 

poach 

boil 

gross 

thick 

trow 

think 

2 

i 

gyre 

ring 

type 

stamp 

barm 

yeast 

haze 

mist 

i 

5 

blanch 

bleach 

heave 

swell 

blain 

blotch 

blast 

blight 

juice 

sap 

chore 

job 

charge 

load 

leap 

spring 

cease 

stop 

clasp 

hold 

lease 

let 

fleer 

mock 

gant 

lean 

leave 

quit 

jeer 

scoff 

grant 

yield 

lieu 

stead 

ode 

song 

grasp 

seize 

pli^At 

pledge 

queer 

odd 

lance 

spear 

prune 

trim 

score 

notch 

rasp 

file 

quail 

sink 

stain 

spot 

slant 

slope 

rue 

plant 

i 

6 

staff 

cane 

sprue 

thrush 

brogwe 

shoe 

vast 

great 

This  lesson  contains  one  hundred  words,  and  in  the  Com- 
mon School  Speller,  instead  of  being  together,  they  are  dis- 
tributed into  at  least  twenty-seven  classes  thus  : 


Class  1,  p.  13. 
grade 
haze 

Class  2,  p.  14. 
track 
stamp 
rank 
frank 
plant 


Class  4,  p.  15. 
pledge 
swell 
melt 
let 
stretch 


Class  5,  p.  17. 
file 

Class  6,  p.  18. 
prick 
thick 
trim 
ring 
spring 
sink 
think 
mist 
quit 

Class  7,  p.  19. 
ode 
hold 
slope 


chore 
store 
gross 

Class  8,  p.  20. 
job 
mock 
odd 
scoff 
song 
stop 
spot 
blotch 
notch 

Class  9,  j.  21. 
fuse 


SPELLING. 


35 


Class  10,  p.  21. 

Class  18,  p.  25. 

Class  33,  p.  30. 

duck 

fay 

boil 

dug 

— 

join 

thrush 

Class  19,  p.  25. 

— 

— 

jeer 

Class  35,  p.  31. 

Class  11,  p.  23. 

fleer 

prune 

type 

free 

— 

gyre* 

queer 

Class  39,  p.  56. 

— 

— 

blight 

Class  13,  p.  23. 

Class  20,  p.  26. 

plight 

barm* 

bleach 

— 

charge 

teal 

Class  53,  p.  81. 

.... 

lean 

rue 

staff 

leap 

sprue* 

lance 

spear 

— 

blanch 

cease 

Class  54,  p.  82. 

gant* 

lease 

juice 

slant 

yeast 

— 

grant 

heave 

Class  55,  p.  82. 

clasp 

leave 

stead 

rasp 

teat* 

.... 

grasp 

— 

great 

blast 

Class  22,  p.  27  . 

— 

vast 

yield 

Class  82,  p.  175. 

— 

.... 

brogue 

Class  15,  p.  24. 

seize 

— 

trail 

— 

Class  85,  p.  183. 

quail 

Class  27,  p.  28. 

lieu 

blain 

goad 

— 

strain 

load 

Class  86,  p.  188. 

stain 

poach 

cane 

twain 

— 

two 

Class  28,  p.  29. 

shoe 

trow 

Gant,  barm,  gyre,  teat,  and  sprue,  and  one  or  two  others, 
are  not  admitted  into  the  Common  School  Speller ;  and  Rue  is 
not  placed,  as  here,  under  long  u.  The  other  words  are 
classed  by  their  chief  characteristics,  and  numbered  and  paged 
according  to  the  classes  of  the  C.  S.  Speller,  in  which  they 
may  be  found,  with  all  the  other  words  that  resemble  them  and 
have  the  same  characteristics. 

Now,  in  classing  the  14,000  words  of  the  Common  School 


36  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Speller,  it  was  only  necessary  to  form  87  classes ;  and  yet  the 
above  lesson  of  only  a  hundred  words  contains  nearly  one  third 
of  all  the  classes  needed,  and,  of  course,  the  hundred  words 
must  be  as  well  mixed  up  as  any  child  of  chaos  can  desire. 

I  have  already  provided  for  the  writing  of  every  word  in 
the  spelling  book,  in  the  order  of  the  spelling  book ;  but  there 
is  another  exercise  in  orthography,  to  which  I  would  now  ask 
attention.  After  writing  the  words  of  the  book,  detached 
from  all  definitions,  the  children  must  be  taught  to  use  the 
words  in  sentences,  and  for  this  purpose  I  have  prepared  a 
book,  called,  "  The  Companion  to  Spelling  Books,  in  which 
the  Orthography  and  Meaning  of  many  thousand  words,  most 
liable  to  be  misspelled  and  misused,  are  impressed  upon  the 
memory  by  a  series  of  exercises  to  be  written  by  the  pupil." 
In  this  little  book  is  one  exercise,  or  more,  adapted  to  every 
lesson  in  the  Common  School  Speller.  All  the  words  of  the 
Speller  are  not  introduced  into  the  sentences ;  but  every  word 
that  is  liable  to  be  misspelled,  or  that  needs  to  be  explained, 
may  be  found  there,  defined,  or  correctly  used,  which  is  often 
the  best  kind  of  definition. 

Every  teacher  has  felt  the  need  of  some  exercise  for  children, 
who  are  sitting  idle,  after  having  learned  the  next  lesson  they 
are  to  recite,  or  from  indisposition  to  study.  As  the  lessons 
of  the  Companion  are  all  numbered,  and  of  moderate  length, 
the  teacher  can  prevent  the  pupils  from  ever  being  able  to  say 
with  truth,  that  they  have  nothing  to  do.  He  can  even  pre- 
vent the  necessity  of  their  interrupting  him  by  asking  what 
they  shall  do  next,  for  he  has  only  to  say  to  them, 
"  When  you  have  no  set  lesson  to  occupy  your  mind,  write 
the  lessons  of  the  Companion  in  their  order,  neatly  and  cor- 
rectly, and  place  them  where  I  can  see  them  and  correct  them 
at  my  leisure."  If  the  pupil  cannot  be  trusted,  he  must  be 
required  to  write  a  certain  number  of  the  lessons  every  day, 
or  every  week  ;  and  the  teacher,  by  keeping  a  record  of  what 
he  corrects,  or  by  requiring  the  pupil  to  show  up  what  he  has 
written,  may  easily  see  that  the  required  number  has  been 
written.  Hereafter,  under  the  head  of  Neatness,  I  shall  give 
some  directions  in  regard  to  the  writing  and  preservation  of 
such  exercises  ;  but  now  the  object  is  to  show  the  many 
advantages  of  these  written  exercises  in  orthography. 

A  few  specimens  of  the  lessons  will  enable  me  better  to 
show  their  various  uses. 


SPELLING.  87 

• 

LESSON  LX. 
CLASS  20.  —  Words  with  E  A  like  long  E. 

Treecle  is  another  name  for  molasses.  Some  careless 
speekers  use  the  word  learning  for  leeching,  A  weazel  is  a 
long-bodied  animal,  smaller  than  a  cat.  The  teazle  is  a 
prickly  plant,  used  to  raise  a  nap  on  cloth.  That  deeler  has 
a  meager  supply  of  goods.  The  heeling  art  has  various 
theories.  Be  not  squeemish  or  over-nice  in  small  matters. 
Bissextile,  or  leepyear,  is  every  fourth  year.  It  was  a  drearey 
road  for  a  wearey  traveller.  His  old  beecer  hat  looked  greazy. 
Bohee  is  usually  called  black  tea.  He  was  impeeched,  or 
accused  of  treason.  Do  not  misleed  the  simple. 

LESSON   XCIII. 

CLASS   47,  continued,  to   show   the   irregularities  of  words 
formed  from  monosyllables  ending  in  LL. 

She  was  handsome,  and,  what  is  better,  good  allso.  All- 
most  every  person  has  some  redeeming  quality.  It  is  aUto- 
gether  wrong  to  tease  ill-tempered  persons.  He  is  skillful, 
and  expeditious  withatt.  The  debt  was  paid  by  installments, 
or  portions.  The  steeple  above  the  bellfry  was  blown  down. 
Those  we  love  are  allways  wellcome.  A  willfull  child  must 
be  subdued.  He  came  not  to  destroy  but  to  fullJUl  the  law. 
The  fulfillment  of  that  prophecy  is  at  hand.  "  My  word 
shall  distill  like  the  dew,"  saith  the  Lord. 

LESSON  C. 

CLASS  50.  —  Words  beginning  with  WH,  which  are  too  often 
pronounced  badly,  as  if  the  H  were  silent. 

Wet  the  wetstone  before  you  sharpen  the  knife.     The  wig 

Early  are  not  called  so  because  they  wear  wigs.  I  wist  not 
ow  to  play  the  popular  game  of  wist.  Wile  you  live  prac- 
tice no  dishonest  wiles.  He  is  not  a  wit  the  better  for  his  wit. 
The  sot  wines  when  his  wine  is  spent.  Who  can  tell  wether 
tho  weather  will  be  fair  ?  Wither  must  it  be  carried  that  it 
may  not  wither  ?  Wen  will  the  surgeons  remove  that  wen  ? 
Were  were  they  placed  ?  Witch  of  the  witches  was  called 
Hecate  ? 


409476 


38  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

LESSON  CCXCVI. 

CLASS  86. —  Words  misused,  there  being  two  or  more  words 
pronounced  alike,  but  spelled  differently. 

The  cession  of  a  court  in  England  is  called  the  assizes.  It 
is  impolite  to  make  a  noise  with  one's  chops  in  eating.  A 
choir  of  paper  contains  twenty-four  sheets.  There  is  no  choler 
to  his  coat.  We  are  bound  to  life  by  many  chords  or  ties. 
A  sion  of  one  tree  was  engrafted  on  the  stock  of  another. 
Citizens  are  sometimes  familiarly  called  sits.  When  a  wit- 
ness is  wanted,  he  is  sited,  or  summoned  to  appear.  Reading 
fine  print  always  injures  the  site.  Impressions  of  birds' 
clause  have  been  found  on  rocks  in  Massachusetts. 

LESSON  CCCVIII. 

CLASS  86,  continued. 

He  was  the  last  of  the  profits.  Quean  Elizabeth  was  a 
vain  woman.  John  Adams  died  at  Quinsy.  A  good  horse 
will  mind  the  rain.  Reign  is  vapor  condensed  by  cold.  The 
Romans  raised  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  to  the  ground.  No 
man  could  raze  the  dead  unless  God  were  with  him.  Some 
one  wraps  at  the  door.  The  jewel  was  rapt  in  cotton.  The 
rising  generation  reed  too  much  and  think  too  little.  "  But 
little  he  '11  wreck"  or  care,  "  if  they  '11  let  him  sleep  on."  It 
is  base  to  reek  vengeance  on  a  helpless  foe. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  sentences  are  correctly  written,  so 
far  as  grammar,  punctuation,  capitals,  &c.,  are  concerned  ;  but 
one  word,  to  which  the  attention  of  the  pupil  is  particularly 
called,  is  misspelled.  He  will  know  this  word  by  its  being 
printed  in  Italic  type.  The  exercise,  then,  is,  in  fact,  an  intro- 
duction to  composition,  as  well  as  to  orthography,  and  I 
always  found  that  such  of  my  pupils  as  had  written  a  course 
of  these  exercises,  were  acquainted  with  the  mechanical  part 
of  composition,  and  rarely  erred  in  those  small  matters  of 
which  even  teachers  are  very  neglectful. 

But  it  has  been  objected  to  these  lessons,  that  the  spelling 
of  words  incorrectly  may  corrupt  the  eye  of  the  child,  which 
should  never  see  any  thing  but  what  is  as  perfect  as  it  can  be 
made.  I  have  known  teachers  to  object  to  these  lessons  on 
this  account,  who  had  always  been  accustomed  to  the  use  of 
Murray's  Exercises  in  false  grammar,  without  perceiving  any 


SPELLING.  39 

danger  from  the  practice  '  There  is  no  danger.  The  exer- 
cise is  only  a  test  of  the  accuracy  of  the  eye,  which  sees  the 
word  correctly  spelled  a  thousand  times,  and  then  sees  it 
incorrectly  spelled  but  once.  The  word,  if  ingeniously  mis- 
spelled, may  for  a  moment  puzzle  the  learner,  but  then  he 
settles  the  question  on  the  spot,  and  writes  the  word  correctly, 
to  fix  it  in  his  mind's  eye.  What  is  more  common  than  this 
mode  of  teaching  ?  If  I  draw  a  circle  to  test  the  eye  of  my 
pupil,  will  he  lose  the  correct  idea  of  a  circle  because  some 
portion  of  my  curves  are  irregular?  If  I  pronounce  a  word 
badly,  or  give  a  wrong  inflection  of  the  voice,  to  try  the  ear 
of  my  pupils,  do  I  destroy  the  power  of  his  ear  correctly  to 
distinguish  sounds  ?  I  have  even  heard  this  misspelling  of  a 
word,  once  in  a  lifetime,  complained  of  by  teachers,  who 
relished  the  letters  of  Jack  Downing,  and  similar  works, 
where  false  orthography  runs  through  the  whole  volume,  and 
who  yet  made  no  complaint  of  the  pernicious  influence  of 
such  examples. 

I  have  said  that  no  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
misspelling  of  a  word  once  in  this  manner,  and  I  speak  from 
experience.  The  lessons  of  the  Companion,  or  similar  ones, 
were  used  in  my  school  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  I  hope 
the  teachers  whom  I  have  had  the  happiness  to  meet  at  the 
several  Institutes,  will  pardon  me  if  I  say  that  the  want  of 
such  an  exercise,  in  my  opinion,  was  the  chief  reason  of  their 
appearing  to  such  disadvantage.  They  lacked  that  critical 
discernment  which  my  pupils  acquired  by  writing  these 
exercises  themselves,  and  afterwards  correcting  the  exercises 
of  their  fellows ;  an  operation  which  I  shall  presently  explain. 
But,  one  fact  of  every  day  occurrence  settles  this  question,  I 
think,  beyond  any  doubt.  Those  who  have  any  experience 
in  printing,  know  that  the  most  excellent  spellers  in  the  world 
are  what  are  called  proof  readers,  that  is,  persons  whose 
business  it  is  to  read  the  first  impressions  from  types,  before 
the  book  is  given  to  the  public.  I  never  knew  an  author, 
whether  a  teacher  or  not,  who  was  not  indebted  to  th°se  men 
for  many  corrections  that  he  had  overlooked.  If  such  almost 
perfect  skill  is  acquired  by  the  constant  search  for  errors,  it  is 
clear  that  no  harm  can  arise  from  a  word's  being  misspelled 
once  in  the  course  of  a  whole  book,  in  which,  except  in  that 
one  instance,  it  is  always  correctly  spelled. 

But,  says  the  teacher,  I  have  no  time  to  correct  such  exer- 
cises. I  pity  the  teacher  who  says  this,  and  am  half  inclined 


40  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

to  ask  him,  "  If  it  will  take  longer  to  correct  an  exercise  than 
to  correct  the  pupil  for  the  idleness  or  mischief  that  it  might 
prevent  ? "  But  he  mitst  find  time  to  correct  a  few  for  his 
own  benefit ;  and,  when  he  is  quick  at  the  work,  and  as  sharp 
in  detecting  errors  as  a  good  teacher  ought  to  be,  he  may 
easily  procure  assistance  in  the  following  way.  After  a  few 
good  scholars  have  written  through  the  book,  or  even  before 
they  have  completed  the  course,  a  new  class  may  begin.  Let 
these  give  their  exercises  to  the  teacher,  who  may  pass  them 
over  to  one  of  the  few  whom  he  can  trust  to  correct  them. 
When  this  one  has  done  his  best,  let  him  pass  them  to  a 
second,  and  he  to  a  third,  till  the  whole  have  inspected  them, 
and  exercised  their  skill  in  making  corrections,  and  then,  let 
them  be  returned  to  the  writer.  These  inspectors,  who  are 
in  fact  "  proof  readers,"  will  be  benefited  as  much  as  the 
writer;  especially  if,  occasionally,  the  teacher  gives  the  exer- 
cises a  final  examination,  to  see  how  thorough  his  assistants 
have  been  in  their  inspection. 

The  best  way  to  use  the  Companion  is,  to  require  every 
pupil  to  have  the  book  and  write  the  lessons  in  course  ;  but, 
if  the  parents  are  too  poor  to  get  the  book  for  their  children,  a 
case  which,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  never  exists  in  this  happy 
country,  or,  if  they  think  they  are  too  poor,  let  the  teacher  get 
one  book,  and  dictate  a  lesson  from  it,  or  write  one  on  the 
black-board  every  day  ;  or,  let  some  monitor  write  it  for  him, 
and  then  let  such  of  the  pupils  as  please,  copy  and  correct  it. 
If  the  teacher  cannot  afford  to  buy  one  book  for  the  benefit  of 
his  school,  let  him  send  to  me,  and  I  will  give  him  one  —  and 
a  word  of  advice  into  the  bargain.  I  am  sick  of  the  constant 
complaint  of  teachers  that  they  cannot  persuade  the  parents  or 
the  committees  to  furnish  the  necessary  books  or  apparatus  for 
their  schools  ;  for,  I  believe  that,  if  the  teacher  is  active,  and 
in  earnest,  the  parents  and  committees  will  be  so,  and  he  may 
get  almost  every  thing  he  asks  for.  Several  young  teachers 
have  told  me  that  they  had  changed  their  minds  in  this 
respect,  for,  as  soon  as  they  satisfied  the  committee  of  the 
utility  of  a  globe,  or  an  outline  map,  or  a  new  book,  a  way 
was  always  opened  to  obtain  it.  Let  my  young  friends  try 
the  experiment,  and  not  complain  until  they  are  sure  that  the 
fault  is  not  their  J\vn.  Of  old,  parents,  though  evil,  "  knew 
how  to  give  good  gifts  to  their  children,"  and  parents,  now-a- 
days,  surely  are  not  less  liberal  and  indulgent. 

As  it  regards  oral  spelling,  I  need  not  say  much.     My 


SPELLING.  41 

method  in  the  classes  was  to  put  out  the  word  as  it  should  be 
pronounced,  and  not,  as  is  the  custom  of  some,  improperly 
pronounced,  to  indicate  the  letters  that  may  not  have  their 
name  sound  in  the  word.  The  whole  class  pronounce  after 
me,  to  make  them  attentive  and  to  show  that  the  word  is 
understood.  Then  the  first  of  the  class  spells  the  word,  and  if 
he  spells  correctly,  well ;  but,  if  incorrectly,  the  next  tries,  and 
if  he  spells  correctly,  he  goes  above  the  other,  who,  instead 
of  having  a  new  word,  is  required  to  spell  the  word  by  which 
he  lost  his  place.  A  new  word  is  then  given  ;  the  whole  class 
pronounce  it,  and  the  third  scholar  spells  it.  If  four,  or  five, 
or  a  dozen  miss  it,  he  who  spells,  goes  up,  and  all  who  go 
down,  separately  spell  the  word  they  have  missed.  A  new 
word  is  then  given  to  the  next  that  has  not  tried,  and  so  on. 

I  know  it  will  be  objected  to  this  method  that  it  introduces 
rank  or  precedence,  which  many  think  worse  than  ignorance  ; 
but  I  never  saw  any  evil  arising  from  it,  and  its  effect  upon 
the  attention  and  industry  of  the  class  is  more  than  a  balance 
for  any  imaginary  evil  that  is  said  to  proceed  from  it.  This 
method  enables  the  teacher  to  compel  each  child  to  take  an 
equal  share  in  the  recitation ;  it  enables  complete  class-lists  of 
recitations  to  be  kept ;  it  saves  the  teacher  the  trouble,  which 
is  not  trifling,  of  saying  which  shall  answer;  and  it  saves 
about  one  third  of  the  time  allotted  to  the  lesson.  The  usual 
method  of  requiring  him  who  misses  a  word  to  take  a  new 
one,  always  seemed  to  me  unfair  and  unprofitable  ;  —  unfair, 
because  it  brings  more  new  words  to  one  pupil  than  to  another, 
and  this,  too,  when  he  is  perhaps  a  little  flurried  by  having 
missed;  —  unprofitable,  because,  until  he  who  has  missed  a 
word  spells  it,  you  are  not  sure  that  he  can  spell  it,  and  is 
benefited  by  having  lost  his  place.  My  custom  was  to  mark 
every  word  that  was  missed  with  a  pencil,  and  then  to  put 
those  words  all  out  again  at  the  end  of  the  lesson,  when  I 
required  them  to  be  spelled  simultaneously  by  the  whole 
class. 

Of  this  simultaneous  spelling,  or  spelling  in  concert,  I  made 
great  use.  Before  music  was  introduced  into  schools,  this 
exercise  and  the  saying  of  the  multiplication  table  were  my 
substitutes.  To  these  I  frequently  resorted,  if  I  wished  to 
restore  order  or  to  cheer  up  the  scholars.  As  words  that  had 
been  missed  were  marked  in  my  spelling  book,  I  generally 
selected  them,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  term,  many  thousand 
important  words  would  be  spelled  by  way  of  amusement. 
4* 


42  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

One  custom  was  this.  However  the  pupils  were  engaged,  if 
I  sounded  my  whistle,  all  business  was  instantly  suspended, 
perfect  silence  reigned,  and  all  looked  to  me,  for  no  one  else 
was  ever  allowed  to  whistle,  the  bell  being  the  ordinary  instru- 
ment for  giving  signals.  I  then  put  out  a  few  words  to  be 
spelled  by  all,  and  the  pitch  of  my  voice  always  regulated  theirs. 
In  this  way  I  would  carry  them,  by  degrees,  from  a  low  whis- 
per to  the  loudest  shout ;  then  from  one  extreme  to  the  other, 
omitting  the  intermediate  sounds.  Sometimes,  in  the  midst 
of  a  word  that  they  were  spelling,  I  would  sound  the  whistle; 
and  as  this  meant  that  all  should  instantly  stop,  every  one 
was  careful  to  be  attentive,  lest  he  should  spell  a  syllable 
alone  after  the  rest  had  stopped.  This  may  be  called  play, 
but  it  was  useful  play,  and  when  it  was  over,  the  children 
went  on  with  their  work  more  cheerfully  and  with  renewed 
vigor. 

I  have  often  been  asked  whether  I  required  my  pupils,  in 
spelling  words,  to  pronounce  the  syllables  separately.  I  never 
did,  because  it  was  of  doubtful  utility,  and  caused  a  great  loss 
of  time.  I  required  a  distinct  pause  after  each  syllable,  but, 
as  the  syllables,  if  separate,  would  often  be  pronounced  differ- 
ently from  what  they  would  be  in  the  word,  I  was  satisfied 
with  the  correct  pronunciation  of  the  word,  before  and  after 
spelling  it.  This  was  my  custom  before  phonography  had 
led  to  a  more  careful  attention  to  the  powers  of  letters  ;  before 
any  one  dreamed  of  spelling  by  the  power  or  sound,  and  not 
by  the  name  of  letters  ;  and  before  any  attempt  was  made  to 
teach  words  before  letters.  If  I  taught  spelling  by  the  sound, 
as  some  now  propose,  I  should  certainly  pronounce  each 
syllable  separately,  but  not,  if  the  letters  to  be  pronounced  are 
called  by  their  names. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  spelling,  allow  me  to  allude  to 
one  use  that  I  made  of  the  spelling  book,  which  may  be  com- 
mon to  other  teachers,  but  which  has  not  fallen  under  my 
observation.  When  the  words  are  arranged  as  in  the  Com- 
mon School  Speller,  I  know  no  better  way  to  impress  the 
rules  and  peculiarities  of  English  pronunciation  upon  the 
learner's  mind  than  to  require  him  to  read  the  lessons,  that  is, 
to  pronounce  every  word  of  a  lesson  with  care.  Suppose,  for 
instance,  he  had  a  fault  of  pronouncing  words  beginning  with 
WH,  as  if  there  were  no  H,  —  a  very  common  fault  with  us 
Yankees, — I  should  take  him  to  the  50th  class,  which  contains 
all  the  words  beginning  with  WH,  and  I  should  make  him 


SPELLING.  43 

pronounce  them  all  in  succession  distinctly.  If  his  fault  was 
dropping  the  G  at  the  end  of  words,  I  should  turn  to  the 
64th  class,  where,  in  giving  directions  for  adding  ing  to  verbs 
ending  in  E,  some  hundreds  of  examples  are  collected,  the 
reading  of  which  distinctly  will  perhaps  entirely  correct  the 
fault.  So  with  words  ending  in  ent  and  ence,  usually  mispro- 
nounced unt  and  unce  ;  the  52d  class  contains  them  all,  and 
affords  abundant  materials  for  practice.  I  have  already  shown, 
under  the  head  of  Reading,  that  the  Common  School  Speller 
contains  the  very  tables  that  are  necessary  to  enable  the  pupil 
to  practise  upon  the  fundamental  sounds  of  the  language. 

One  way  of  imparting  interest  to  spelling  lessons  was 
common  when  I  was  young,  but  I  do  not  hear  much  of  it 
now.  The  boys  of  a  class  were  accustomed  to  choose  sides, 
and  spell  against  each  other.  Those  who  object  to  giving 
precedence  in  classes  will  probably  object  to  this  kind  of 
excitement  also,  but  this  would  not  deter  me  from  occasionally 
resorting  to  it.  I  have  seen  such  spelling  matches  produce 
some  hard  thoughts,  but  I  do  not  believe  this  is  a  necessary 
consequence  of  the  competition,  for  I  never  saw  it  among  my 
own  pupils  in  the  course  of  twenty  years.  Before  commencing, 
let  certain  rules  be  agreed  upon.  Mine  were,  as  nearly  as  I 
can  recollect,  the  following : 

1.  The  lesson  should  be  given  before  the  sides  were  chosen. 

2.  The  words  should  be  spelled  in  some  certain  order,  as, 
from  beginning  to  end,  from  end  to  beginning,  from  right  to 
left  across  the  columns,  or  from  left  to  right,  so  as  to  prevent 
any  selection. 

3.  The  word  should  be  pronounced  but  once,  unless  the 
first  speller  requires  it  before  he  spells. 

4.  No  speller  should  try  twice. 

5.  If    any   speller  prompts   another,   it  must   count  one 
against  his  side. 

6.  If  a  pupil  misspells,  the  pupil  corresponding  to  him  on 
the  other  side  must  try ;   if  he  spells  correctly,  it  counts  one 
for  his  side.     If  he  spells  incorrectly,  the  next  on  the  other 
side  tries,  and  if  he  gets  right,  he  saves  his  side  only,  and 
neither  party  gains. 

Matches  of  this  sort  are  almost  the  only  thing  respecting 
my  school  days  that  I  recollect  with  pleasure,  and  to  the 
interest  I  took  in  them,  probably,  I  owe  the  fact,  that  I  was  a 
good  speller  when  I  left  school,  although  extremely  ignorant 
of  every  thing  but  spelling. 

At  the  end  of  every  term,  I  was  accustomed  to  review  all 


44  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

my  classes  in  every  branch,  and  to  re-class  the  pupils.  My 
method  of  reviewing  in  orthography  was  this.  I  selected  about 
one  hundred  words  from  various  parts  of  the  spelling  book, 
and  without  letting  any  pupil  know  the  words  I  had  selected, 
I  required  every  child  to  spell  every  one  of  them,  where  the 
others  could  not  hear  her.  As  I  could  not  hear  them  all 
myself,  I  employed,  as  assistants,  the  best  of  those  who  had 
spelled  to  me,  and  I  never  had  any  reason  to  suppose  that  they 
were  not  as  faithful  to  their  trust  as  I  was  to  mine.  The 
number  that  each  missed  was  recorded,  and  the  new  classifi- 
cation was  based  upon  this,  and  upon  the  class  lists,  in  which 
the  spelling  of  each  scholar  from  day  to  day  was  recorded. 
In  every  other  branch  also,  in  reviewing  the  pupils,  I  always 
gave  the  same  questions  to  every  one,  taking  care,  of  course, 
that  no  one  should  hear  another  answer,  nor  know  what  the 
questions  were  before  he  was  called  on  to  answer. 

The  exercise  of  spelling,  in  some  form  or  other,  was  never 
dropped  in  my  school,  even  by  the  most  advanced  scholars. 
Every  one  was  reviewed  at  the  end  of  every  term,  and  if 
there  was  any  appearance  of  relapse,  the  pupil  was  obliged  to 
spend  more  time  than  usual  upon  this  exercise  the  ensuing 
quarter.  Once,  while  I  was  reviewing  my  classes  in  this  way, 
a  young  lady,  aged  sixteen  or  seventeen,  who  had  received 
the  highest  honors  of  the  public  schools,  and  had  so  won  the 
regard  of  her  late  teacher,  that  he  was  at  great  pains  to 
recommend  her  to  my  particular  attention,  presented  herself 
to  be  admitted  as  a  pupil,  for  the  purpose  of  finishing  her  edu- 
cation, as  the  common  expression  is.  My  children  were 
taking  a  recess;  and,  being  idle,  I  asked  her  if  she  would  not 
like  to  amuse  herself  by  spelling  the  sixty  words  that  I  had 
selected  for  the  review  of  my  scholars.  She  readily  acqui- 
esced, and  missed  thirty-two  of  the  sixty.  Lest  she  should 
feel  mortified,  I  made  light  of  it,  and  merely  remarked  that  I 
supposed  she  had  not  practised  much  of  late,  and  if  she 
would  like  to  revive  her  knowledge,  I  could  let  her  teach  a 
small  class  when  she  was  not  engaged  in  the  higher  studies 
which  she  wished  to  pursue.  She  made  no  objection,  and 
went  home,  but,  not  coming  again,  I  asked  her  cousin  why 
she  was  absent,  and  was  informed  that  she  was  not  coming 
any  more,  for  her  mother  did  not  wish  her  to  go  to  a  school 
where  they  did  nothing  but  spell !  My  fidelity  cost  me  a 
pupil,  and  I  soon  afterwards  heard  of  her  having  entered 
another  school,  where,  of  course,  she  could  "  finish  her  educa- 
tion"  without  learning  how  to  spell. 


45 


ARITHMETIC. 

ARITHMETIC  is  the  all-absorbing  study  in  the  public  schools 
of  Massachusetts,  and,  probably,  in  those  of  every  other  state. 
As  far  as  my  observation  goes,  it  occupies  more  of  the  time 
of  our  children  than  all  other  branches  united.  It  is  easy  to 
see  that  the  cause  of  this  is  the  prevailing  notion,  that  suc- 
cess in  business  depends  upon  skill  in  arithmetic.  The 
thoroughness  with  which  this  branch  is  taught,  is  by  no 
means  commensurate  with  the  importance  unfortunately 
attached  to  it.  Too  much  attention  has  evidently  been  paid 
to  the  higher  parts  of  arithmetic,  to  the  neglect  of  the  very 
elements.  One  experiment  that  I  made  at  every  Teachers' 
Institute  will  show  what  I  mean.  So  many  of  the  teachers 
who  led  in  the  exercises  of  the  Institutes,  excelled  in  arith- 
metic and  preferred  to  teach  it,  that  I  rarely  touched  upon  it 
except  to  ascertain  whether  my  fears  were  well  founded, 
and  in  every  instance  they  proved  to  be  so. 

One  would  think  that  nothing  in  the  world  could  be  easier 
than  for  a  pupil  to  add  up  a  single  column  of  figures,  and 
yet,  in  no  instance  have  half  the  teachers  of  an  Institute,  on 
an  average,  been  able  to  add  correctly  a  column  that 
amounted  to  over  two  hundred.  Sometimes,  not  one  fifth  of 
them  could  do  it,  taking  as  much  time  as  they  pleased. 
They  could  extract  a  cube  root,  *r  perform  a  difficult  problem 
in  the  rule  of  proportion,  but  they  had  never  tried  a  long 
column  of  figures,  and  they  were  unable  to  master  one.  It 
rarely  happened  that  those  who  added  it  correctly,  did  so 
with  any  thing  like  despatch.  Ten  or  fifteen  minutes  was 
the  time  I  usually  allowed  for  the  addition  of  such  a  column,  but 
I  usually  added  and  proved  it,  that  is,  I  began  at  the  bottom  and 
added  it  up,  and  then  began  at  the  top  and  added  downward, 
in  less  than  one  minute.  Many  of  these  young  teachers 
were  better  mathematicians  than  I,  but  I  had  attended  more 
to  the  elements,  and  they  more  to  the  advanced  rules.  Of  a 
thousand  teachers,  I  found  but  one  that  brought  up  the  sum 
correctly  added  before  I  had  proved  mine,  and  she  did  so  but 
once.  This  first  experiment  led  me  to  try  further,  and  although 
a  larger  proportion  performed  correctly  a  common  sum  in 


46  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

addition,  say,  six  columns  of  six  figures  each,  and  common 
sums  in  subtraction,  multiplication  and  division,  still,  it  was 
evident  that  they  had  not  sufficiently  practised  these  simple 
rules  to  do  them  with  such  despatch  as  I  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  see  in  my  school,  where,  under  monitors,  the  pupils 
had  at  least  a  hundred  times  the  practice  that  children  ever 
get  under  the  master,  in  a  school  on  the  common  plan. 

I  early  saw  that  the  use  of  books  was  unfavorable  to 
despatch,  and  I  made  it  a  rule  not  to  let  a  child  cipher  from  a 
book,  until  she  was  very  quick,  and  very  accurate,  in  what 
are  called  the  ground  rules  of  arithmetic.  My  manner  of 
teaching  these  rules  may  have  had  something  peculiar  in  it, 
but  it  was  rather  the  amount  of  practice  than  the  method, 
which  gave  my  pupils  a  degree  of  speed  and  accuracy  that 
sometimes  astonished  strangers.  I  recollect  that  once  an 
awkward  teacher,  from  a  neighboring  state,  visited  my  school, 
and  as  he  had  published  an  arithmetic  and  felt  strong  in  this 
branch,  he  asked  me  to  show  him  an  exercise  in  it.  I  called 
out  a  class  of  about  twenty,  and  gave  them  a  sum  in  simple 
multiplication  of  which  the  multiplier  was  8.  They  did  the 
operation  so  quickly,  that  my  visitor  thought  there  was  some 
trick  in  it,  and  he  asked  if  I  would  allow  him  to  set  them  a 
sum.  He  began  to  dictate,  and  to  write  his  figures  on  the 
black-board,  which  was  so  turned  that  the  pupils  could  not  see 
it ;  but,  his  operations  were  so  slow  that  the  class  grew  impa- 
tient. He  told  them,  at  last,  to  multiply  by  9,  and,  before  he 
had  multiplied  the  first  two  figures,  some  held  out  the  sum  to 
him  and  asked  if  it  was  right.  "  Stop  a  minute  ! "  said  he. 
As  their  numbers  increased  around  him,  "  Stop  a  minute  ! 
stand  away  ! "  said  he,  knocking  the  misses  with  his  elbows, 
"  you  put  me  out !"  I  beckoned  to  them  to  form  a  line,  and 
wait  patiently.  When  he  had  done,  he  examined  their  slates 
and  pronounced  them  all  wrong,  and  he  was  evidently 
pleased  at  this  result.  But,  one  of  them  instantly  went  to  his 
sum  on  the  black-board,  and  returned,  saying  that  she 
believed  the  error  was  in  his  sum.  He  went  over  it  again, 
and,  after  a  long  time,  discovered  that  it  was  so.  I  asked 
Nhim  to  try  them  again,  but  he  declined,  and  most  ungraciously 
added  that  "  the  girls  bothered  him."  They  would  have 
done  ten  such  sums  to  his  one,  and  made  their  figures  ten 
times  as  well  as  his  were  made.  He  was  the  author  of  an 
arithmetic,  notwithstanding,  and  had  taught  for  several  years. 
I  do  not  consider  that  arithmetic  is  my  forte,  but  the  atten- 


ARITHMETIC.  47 

tion  with  which  the  few  lessons  I  gave  were  received  by  my 
young  friends  at  the  Institutes,  leads  me  to  say  a  few  words 
upon  the  elementary  rules. 

In  adding  a  single  column,  say  the  following,  which  I  place 
horizontally  to  save  room,  but  the  figures  of  which  are  to  be 
added  as  if  placed  in  one  vertical  column,  I  found  that  the 
pupils  had  various  methods.  Let  the  column  be  S,  9,  6,  7, 
9,  8,  8,  9,  6,  8,  9,  9,  8,  6,  7,  7,  9,  9,  8,  8,  7,  9,  8,  9,  7,  7,  8, 
9,  8,  4,  9,  7. 

Some  cut  the  column  into  five  or  six  parts,  added  the  parts 
separately,  and  then  added  together  their  several  sums. 
Some,  as  I  dictated  the  figures,  added  each  pair  and  set  them 
down.  Thus,  when  I  said  S  and  9,  they  set  down  17  ;  6  and 
7=13,  which  they  set  down  under  17,  and  so  on.  Others, 
as  I  dictated  the  figures,  set  all  the  8's  by  themselves,  all  the 
9's  by  themselves,  and  so  with  the  other  figures,  and  then 
said,  1 1  times  9  are  99 ;  10  times  8  are  SO  ;  7  times  7  are 
49  ;  3  times  6  are  IS,  and  once  4  is  4.  Then  they  had  to  add 
the  several  sums  to  find  the  total,  250.  One  marked  the  tens 
thus.  He  took  the  8,  and  2  from  the  9,  and  made  a  dot ;  then 
he  took  the  remaining  7  of  the  9  with  3  from  the  6,  and  made 
another  dot ;  the  remaining  3  and  the  next  7  making  10,  he 
made  a  third  dot.  When  he  had  finished,  he  counted  his  dots, 
and  found  25  tens.  Finally,  another  divided  the  column 
into  tens,  but  made  no  dots.  He  said  thus,  dividing  the 
figures  as  he  went,  8  and  2  are  10,  and  7  are  17,  and  3  are 
20,  and  3  are  23,  and  7  are  30,  and  so  on. 

When  I  told  them  that  I  had  no  such  aids,  they  wondered ; 
but  the  fact  was,  I  had  practised  so  much  with  my  pupils  that 
it  was  with  addition  as  with  the  multiplication  table  ;  when 
asked  how  many  are  6  times  7, 1  never  calculate,  for  42  is  so 
connected  with  6  times  7,  that  no  calculation  is  necessary. 
So,  when  one  figure  follows  another,  I  know  what  the  amount 
must  be,  and  make  no  calculation.  I  suggested,  however, 
the  following  plan  to  the  teachers,  and,  afterwards,  their 
increased  despatch  showed  that  it  was  of  some  service  to 
them.  I  placed  ten  or  twelve  9's  in  a  column,  and  said,  "  If 
I  add  ten  to  9  what  is  the  unit  figure  of  the  product  ? "  9 
said  they,  of  course.  "  Well,  if  9  and  10  give  9,  9  and  9 
will  give  one  less  than  9,  viz.,  8.  So  9  and  8  will  give  two 
lers  than  9,  viz.,  7  ;  and  9  and  7  will  give  three  less  than  9. 
viz.,  6.  As  every  one,  therefore,  knows  what  any  number 
with  10  will  make,  let  him  drop  1  for  9,  2  for  8,  3  for  7,  and 


48  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

he  will  readily  find  what  he  wants.  Thus,  in  adding  the  col- 
umn first  given,  say  8  and  10  would  be  18,  and,  therefore,  8 
and  9  will  be  one  less,  or  17  -f-  6  are  23  -f-  7  are  30-}- 9  are 
39-}- 10  would  be  49,  8  being  2  less,  makes  47 — two  less 
than  7  will  bring  5,  and  the  next  8  added  to  47  makes  55. 
The  next  9  gives,  not  65,  but  64,  and  6  are  70,  and  so  on. 
There  is  no  trouble  with  figures  under  7,  nor,  indeed,  with 

7  itself.     To  show  how  figures  increase  by  the  addition  of  9, 

8  or  7,  they  should  be  exercised  on  columns  all  nines,  or  all 
eights,  or  all  sevens. 

Of  all  the  methods  of  proving  a  sum  in  addition,  I  have 
never  found  any  equal  to  adding  the  figures  in  a  direction 
contrary  to  that  first  used.  If  the  pupil  begins  at  the  bottom, 
he  should  prove  the  sum  by  beginning  at  the  top ;  for  this 
entirely  changes  the  combinations,  and  the  child  will  not  be  so 
likely  to  run  into  the  same  error  again,  as  he  will  if  he  goes 
twice  in  the  same  direction. 

Another  point  in  which  children  are  generally  deficient  is 
numeration.  I  never  set  the  sums  for  children,  nor  allowed 
them  to  copy  from  books,  but  always  dictated  the  sum  to  be 
added^  and  required  the  children  to  write  as  I  dictated,  all 
together,  if  they  used  slates,  and  in  turn  if  they  stood  before 
the  black-board.  I  recollect  once,  that,  after  I  had  dictated  a 
yum  to  the  highest  class  in  a  school,  and  few  or  none  had  sej 
it  down  correctly,  the  teacher,  evidently  distressed  at  their 
failure,  said,  "  How  could  you  mistake  so,  scholars,  after  I 
have  shown  you  so  many  times !  How  often  I  have  written 
such  sums  on  the  black-board,  and  told  you  how  to  read 
them  ! "  I  mildly  whispered  to  him  that  the  fault  lay,  I 
feared,  in  his  having  written  the  sums,  instead  of  requiring 
the  pupils  to  write  them. 

As  soon  as  a  child  began  to  count,  she  began  to  write  fig- 
ures ;  just  as  she  began  to  make  letters,  the  moment  she  began 
to  learn  them.  At  the  top  of  the  black-board,  I  chalked,  or 
painted,  the  figures  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  0,  as  well  as  pos- 
sible, and  if  the  child  was  at  a  loss,  she  could  look  to  the 
copy  ;  if  she  made  a  bad  figure,  I  rubbed  it  out,  and  pointed 
to  the  copy.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  at  the  Institutes  for 
me  to  be  obliged  to  ask  the  young  teachers  what  their  figures 
were  made  for.  If  teachers  do  thus,  what  can  be  expected 
from  their  pupils  ? 

The  child  begins  to  count  his  fingers,  beans,  marbles,  or 
other  objects,  before  he  is  required  to  write  the  figures,  but  as 


ARITHMETIC.  49 

soon  as  he  can  write  1  and  2,  he  is  required  to  add  these 
together,  and,  if  very  small,  he  may  mark  against  the  figure 
as  many  units  or  ones  as  it  represents,  thus  : 

1  . 

2  . 

o     •  •  • 


10 


As  soon  as  the  column  amounts  to  ten  or  over,  let  the  teacher 
ask,  how  many  tens  and  how  many  units  are  in  the  amount, 
and  teach  the  pupil  how  to  set  the  units  under  the  column, 
and  the  tens  on  their  left  hand.  He  needs  not  to  add  tens 
until  he  has  become  expert  in  adding  units  ;  but  when  it  is 
necessary  for  him  to  learn  numeration,  let  it  be  taught  in  this 
way.  Write  on  the  black-board  as  follows  : 

Millions.    Thousands.      Units. 


O>C          3    o>    C          3    Q)    G 

H  t>      ffi  H  ^>      ffi  E-1  & 
0  0  0,     0  0  0,     0  0  0, 

Now  give  the  child  a  single  column  that  shall  amount  to 
more  than  ten.  Let  him  set  down  the  amount  on  the  side  of 
the  slate.  Suppose  it  to  be  18,  then  ask  of  what  is  18  com- 
posed ?  One  ten  and  eight  units.  What  is  the  one  ten  com- 
posed of?  Ten  units.  Then  there  are  8  units  and  1  ten  of 
units.  See  me  write  them  under  units  of  units,  and  tens  of 
units.  Give  another  column  of  figures,  and  do  the  same  with 
the  amount.  Then,  place  so  many  sums  under  each  other 
that  they  will  amount  to  over  a  hundred.  Suppose  the  sum 
to  stand  thus : 

5 


50  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Millions.    Thousands.      Units. 


^     03    f2  13     OT    2 

j-  .  rt          C    c  • «          C    c  • « 
0)    (3          3    d>    G          p    g>   fl 


000,  000,  000 
3 
4 
5 
6 


145 

Ask  thjflpupil  now  to  add  the  column  of  units,  and  when  she 
finds  the  amount,  let  her  set  it  down  in  full  on  the  side  of  her 
slate  or  black-board.  Ask  how  many  units  and  how  many 
tens  it  contains,  and  let  her  set  the  units  down,  as  she  has 
been  taught  to  do.  Tell  her  she  may  put  the  tens  under  the 
other  tens,  or  she  may  count  them  where  they  stand,  and 
say,  3  tens  and  4  tens,  and  3  more  tens,  and  2  tens,  and  1  ten, 
and  1  more  ten,  are  14  tens.  Let  her  set  down  the  14  tens, 
as  in  the  above  sum,  and  then  ask  under  what  head  does  the 
1  come.  Perhaps  she  can  tell  how  many  14  tens  are,  viz., 
1  hundred  and  4  tens. 

Ask  how  many  units  or  single  ones  make  10  ?  How  many 
tens  make  100  ?  In  one  hundred  are  how  many  tens  ?  In 
fourteen  how  many  units  ?  What  do  the  1,  4,  5  stand  for  ? 

To  impress  this  decimal  increase  upon  the  mind,  then  take 
a  large  square  piece  of  paper  and  say,  This  paper  we  will 
call  a  hundred.  How  many  tens  are  in  it  ?  Let  us  cut  it 
into  ten  tens  then.  When  it  is  so  cut,  take  one  of  the  pieces, 
and  say  this  ten  contains  how  many  units  ?  Well,  let  us  cut 
it  into  ten  units.  The  child  will  see  the  proportion  between 
units,  tens  and  hundreds,  but  he  will  see  it  more  distinctly, 
if  the  teacher  cuts  up  several  hundreds  in  this  way,  and  then 


ARITHMETIC.  61 

lays  them  in  piles  to  be  added  as  if  they  were  figures.    Let 
us  suppose  such  a  sum  to  be  composed  thus  :  — 


Hundreds.  Tens.  Units. 


V/      V.V     or257 


••  V 


or 


Have  a  few  spare  tens  and  hundreds,  and  then  ask  the  child 
to  count  the  unit-pieces  of  paper.  When  he  says  23,  ask 
him  how  many  tens  are  in  23  ?  If  he  says  2  tens  and  3 
units,  ask  him  to  change  some  of  his  units  with  you  for  ten- 
pieces,  and  then  ask  him  to  lay  the  two  ten-pieces  on  the 
other  tens,  leaving  the  three  remaining  units  in  a  pile.  Then 
let  him  count  the  ten-pieces,  and  when  he  says  there  are  22, 
ask  him  how  many  of  them  make  a  hundred-piece,  and  ex- 
change hundred-pieces  with  him.  Tell  him  to  lay  the  two 
ten-pieces  that  remain,  in  the  tens'  place,  and  to  lay  the  two 
hundred-pieces  with  the  other  hundreds.  Then  let  him  count 
the  hundreds,  and  say  how  many  there  are.  Ask  him  then 
to  express  the  hundreds,  tens  and  units,  in  figures,  viz.,  723. 
Let  him  add  several  times  in  this  way,  and  express  the 
amount,  or  even  write  the  whole  sum  in  figures.  When 
expert  at  this,  give  him  the  following  : 

•  Thousands.      Units. 


1,     649 
He  can  set  down  the  units  and  the  tens  as  before.    When 


62  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

he  comes  to  the  hundreds,  tell  him  to  set  the  6  under  the 
hundreds,  and  the  ten  of  hundreds,  making  one  thousand, 
must  go  into  the  next  family,  under  units  of  thousands. 

Then  take  a  piece  of  paper  ten  times  as  big  as  a  100  piece, 
and  call  it  a  1000  piece,  that  the  child  may  see  the  tenfold 
increase  of  numbers  towa'rds  the  left. 

By  this  time,  he  will  understand  the  basis  of  numeration, 
and  a  more  expeditious  course  may  be  tried  as  follows. 
Write  the  nine  zeros,  and  place  them  in  families  as  before, 

Millions.   Thousands.     Units. 

000,     000,    000 

then  ask  how  many  figures  must  there  be  to  reach  to  hun- 
dreds ?  How  many  to  units  of  thousands  ?  to  units  of  mil- 
lions ?  Write  various  sums  under  the  zeros,  and  ask  the 
children  to  read  them.  Introduce  many  zeros  into  the  sums 
you  write,  and  teach  the  pupil,  that,  if  no  other  figure  is  to 
be  placed  under  any  zero,  the  place  must  never  be  left  vacant, 
but  filled  with  a  zero.  After  the  pupil  reads  easily  any  num- 
ber you  write,  not  exceeding  millions,  give  him  the  chalk, 
and  dictate,  at  first,  as  follows  :  Write  three  hundred  and  nine 
units !  Write,  in  the  line  below,  three  hundred  and  nine 
thousands!  Watch  for  the  zeros  to  be  put  under  the  units, 
and  then  say,  Write  three  hundred  and  nine  millions !  He  will 
see  that  it  is  just  as  easy  to  write  millions  as  units,  if  he 
recollects  to  place  them  aright. 

If  then  you  wish  to  dictate  a  number  of  sums  to  be  after- 
wards added,  write  the  nine  zeros  as  before,  and  dictate  the 
following  sums,  waiting,  after  you  have  named  the  millions 
till  they  are  written  down  by  the  pupil,  and  then  giving  the 
thousands,  and  waiting  till  they  are  written,  before  you  give 
the  units. 

000,000,000 
306,460,099 

87,087,807 

960,096,906 

9,009,090 

90,600,006 

756,000,010 

7,007,007 

70,070,070 
700,700,700 


ARITHMETIC.  63 

8,808,080 

67,068,000 

964,064 

7,907 

89,000,089 

When  the  pupil  can  write  the  above  sums  without  mistake, 
the  zeros  may  be  removed  from  over  the  sum,  and  he  may 
be  exercised  without  them  ;  but  the  teacher  must  be  rigid  in 
requiring  the  figures  to  be  separated  into  families,  and  in 
requiring  zeros  to  be  inserted  where  no  other  figures  come. 
If  the  pupil  is  told  to  write  eight  hundred  and  four  thousand, 
and  seventy-nine  units,  and  writes  them  thus,  80479,  the 
teacher  must  tell  him  to  mark  off  his  figures  into  families,  and 
ask  him  if  800  thousands  are  in  the  thousands'  place.  Or,  he 
may  ask  how  many  figures  does  it  take  to  make  hundreds  of 
thousands  ? 

Many  of  the  teachers  whom  I  met  at  the  Institutes,  had  evi- 
dently been  accustomed  to  copy  sums  from  books,  and  unac- 
customed to  write  from  dictation.  The  consequence  was  that 
they  missed  in  addition,  not  because  they  did  not  add  correctly, 
but  because  the  sums  that  I  dictated  were  incorrectly  written 
down.  All  the  subsequent  rules  must  be  made  practical 
exercises  in  numeration,  so  that  the  place  of  every  figure 
shall  be  as  distinctly  marked  in  the  pupil's  mind,  as  if  it  were 
written  there. 

When  a  large  class  are  engaged  in  ciphering,  and  are 
allowed  to  bring  up  the  answer  as  soon  as  it  is  found,  there 
will  be  confusion  unless  something  like  the  following  rule  is 
observed.  Let  me  give  the  rule  by  showing  how  I  managed 
in  such  cases. 

Suppose  the  class  contains  fifty  pupils.  I  dictate  a  sum  for 
each  to  do  on  his  slate.  I  always  do  it,  and  prove  it,  before 
any  of  the  class  bring  it  up  ;  but,  if  the  teacher  cannot  do  this, 
the  pupils  must  be  required  to  form  a  line,  those  who  do  it 
first  being  nearest  to  the  teacher.  It  is  better  that  they  should 
wait  for  him  than  for  him  to  prepare  the  answer  beforehand, 
for  he  needs  the  practice,  and  should  compel  himself  to  take 
it.  As  soon  as  he  is  sure  that  his  sum  is  right,  he  must  look 
at  the  first  slate  ;  if  right  number  it  1,  if  wrong  make  a  w,  but 
say  nothing.  Then  look  at  the  rest,  numbering  those  that 
are  right  in  their  order,  and  marking  all  that  are  wrong 
with  w. 

5* 


64  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

The  teacher  must  also  say  how  long  he  will  wait  for 
answers,  and  he  must  encourage  those  who  do  the  sum  wrong 
to  try  again.  No  one,  after  joining  the  line  to  show  up,  must 
make  or  alter  a  figure,  and,  if-  known  to  do  so,  he  must  go 
behind  all  that  are  in  the  line.  This  any  honest  pupil  will 
do,  if  he  detects  an  error  while  waiting  for  examination. 
When  the  whole  fifty  have  shown  their  slates,  or  when  the 
allotted  time  has  expired,  if  20  is  the  last  number  that  has  the 
correct  answer,  the  teacher  must  tell  all  who  did  the  sum 
incorrectly,  that  is,  all  who  are  not  numbered,  to  call  them- 
selves 21.  Let  every  scholar  then  write  the  number  he  has 
obtained  on  one  corner  of  his  slate,  and  keep  it  there. 

Give  a  new  sum,  and  mark  the  slates  in  the  same  manner, 
and  let  each  pupil  record  the  number  he  gets  now,  under  the 
former  number.  When  the  lesson  is  over,  let  each  pupil  add 
up  the  numbers  he  has  obtained,  and  let  the  teacher  record 
the  aggregate  of  each  pupil  on  a  list  of  names  kept  for  the 
purpose.  If  he  allows  precedence  to  be  taken  in  the  class, 
the  pupil  whose  aggregate  is  the  least  may  stand  first,  and 
the  rest  according  to  their  numbers.  If  the  teacher  needs  to 
use  his  pupils  as  assistants,  his  class  list  of  these  exercises 
will  show  him  the  most  capable. 

To  be  more  particular.  Suppose  the  class  consists  of  ten 
pupils,  named  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  G,  H,  I,  J.  The  least 
aggregate  of  any  one's  numbers  must  be  as  many  as  the 
number  of  sums  done,  for  he  cannot  be  less  than  1.  Let  the 
teacher  then  begin  at  the  lowest  number,  say  8,  if  eight  sums 
were  done,  and  let  him  call  every  number,  from  8  onward, 
till  all  are  placed.  Suppose  the  pupils  have  been  numbered 
as  follows  : 

A.    B.C.D.E.F.G.H.     I.J 

1st  trial 

2  « 

3  " 

4  « 

5  « 

6  « 

7  « 

8  « 

12  .  22  .  23  .  50  .  55  .  52  .  25  .  64  .  72  .   65 


2  . 

4  . 

1  . 

7  . 

8  . 

5  . 

3  . 

10  . 

9  . 

6 

1  . 

3  . 

4  . 

8  . 

5  . 

6  . 

2  . 

7  . 

10  . 

9 

2  . 

3  . 

5  . 

6  . 

7  . 

4  . 

1  . 

9  . 

8  . 

10 

2  . 

4  . 

1  . 

7  . 

5  . 

6  . 

3  . 

10  . 

9  . 

8 

1  . 

2  . 

3  . 

8  . 

6  . 

5  . 

4  . 

7  . 

10  . 

9 

1  . 

2  . 

4  . 

5  . 

9  . 

10  . 

3  . 

6  . 

7  . 

8 

2  . 

1  . 

3  . 

4  . 

7  . 

10  . 

5  . 

8  . 

9  . 

6 

1  . 

3  . 

2  . 

5  . 

8  . 

6  . 

4  . 

7  . 

10  . 

9 

ARITHMETIC.  OO 

The  Teachers'  Class  List  then  should  be  ruled  as  follows, 
and  the  record  of  the  above  lesson  would  stand  as  in  the  first 
column  below. 


A. 

i 

1|2|1|2 

1|2 

Ml 

2 

= 

14 

No. 

1 

B. 

2 

3  |  1  |  2  |  5 

2|  1 

2|3 

3 

= 

24 

2 

C. 

3 

4|  3  |  3  |  4 

3|3 

4|4 

1 

= 

32 

3 

D. 

5 

2  |  4  |  5  |  6 

4|4 

3|7 

4 

= 

44 

4 

E. 

7 

7  |  6  |  6  |  5 

S|6 

7|6 

5 

= 

63 

6 

F- 

6 

8|7|7|3 

10  |  8 

6|5 

7 

= 

67 

7 

G. 

4 

5  |  5  |  4  |  1 

9|5 

5|2 

6 

= 

46 

5 

H. 

8 

6  |10|  8  |10 

5  |10 

9  |  8 

10 



84 

S 

I- 

10 

9|  9|  9|9 

6|7 

10  |  9 

.8 

= 

86 

9 

r 

9 

10  |  8  |10  |  8 

7  |  9 

8|10 

9 

= 

88 

10 

If  the  class  have  ten  such  trials  in  the  course  of  the  terra, 
and  the  above  columns  represent  the  result  of  each  trial,  then 
the  aggregate  at  the  right  hand  shows  the  relative  rank  of  the 
class  at  the  end  of  the  term.  I  kept  such  a  class  list  in 
every  branch  that  was  taught  in  the  school,  and  could  at  any 
moment  tell  the  relative  standing  of  every  pupil,  and  select 
the  best  assistant  in  any  branch  where  one  was  wanted. 

When  the  children  are  ciphering  on  the  black-board,  there 
are  various  ways  of  keeping  them  at  work.  I  will  try  to 
describe  a  few  of  them.  Suppose  the  class  to  consist  of  six, 
and  the  exercise  to  be  in  addition.  I  first  dictate  one  line  of 
a  sum  to  each  pupil,  as  follows  : 

3,746,389,467 
8,079,688,089 
7,680,895,496 
9,009,900,090 

7,568,785,687 
8,687,768,686 


515 

253 


The  pupils  stand  in  a  semicircle  around  the  board,  the 


56  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

teacher  or  monitor  standing  on  the  left,  the  head  of  the  class 
being  always  on  the  right. 

FIRST   METHOD. 

Let  the  first  child  begin,  and  say  aloud,  "  6  and  7  are  13." 
Let  the  next  child  say,  "  and  6  are  19 ;"  the  next,  "  and  9 
are  28 ;"  and  the  next,  "  and  7  are  35."  The  next  sets  down 
5,  and,  if  the  children  are  very  young,  he  sets  a  small  3  under 
the  5,  as  a  guide  to  the  next,  who  says,  "  3  tens  carried  to  8 
tens  make  11."  Then  the  head  begins  again,  and  says,  "  11 
and  8  are  19;"  the  next  says,  "and  9  are  28;"  the  next, 
"  and  are  37 ;"  the  next,  "  and  8  are  45 ;"  the  next,  "  and  6 
are  51  '  The  next  sets  down  1  in  the  tens  place,  and  puts  a 
5  un'  jr  it.  The  next  says,  "  5  hundreds  carried  to  6  hun- 
dreds make  11  hundreds  ;"  the  next  says,  "  and  6  are  17  ;" 
and  so  on  until  the  sum  is  finished. 

As  soon  as  possible,  the  habit  of  placing  the  number  to  be 
carried  under  the  figure  to  be  set  down,  must  be  dropped ; 
for  the  children  will  be  more  attentive  if  they  have  no  such 
aid. 

If  any  one  mistakes  in  the  addition,  let  the  next  try,  and  go 
up,  if  precedence  is  allowed  in  the  classes,  but  do  not  require 
the  child  who  goes  down  to  take  a  new  number  until  his  turn 
comes  round  again,  for  this  will  double  his  share  of  the 
work. 

SECOND  METHOD. 

If  precedence  is  not  taken,  let  the  teacher  call  on  the  pupils, 
not  in  course,  to  add,  as  in  the  former  case,  and  ignorance  of 
whose  turn  comes  next  will  keep  all  attentive.  This  course 
gives  the  teacher  much  more  trouble,  however,  and  takes 
much  more  time. 

THIRD   METHOD. 

Instead  of  saying  6  and  7  are  13,  and  6  are  19,  and  9  are 
28,  and  7  are  35,  set  down  5  and  carry  3  —  let  the  first  child 
say,  13  ;  the  next,  19  ;  the  next,  28 ;  the  next,  35.  Let  the 
next  set  down  5,  and  the  next,  taking  the  next  column,  say 
11 ;  the  next  19 ;  the  next  28 ;  and  so  on  to  the  end. 

FOURTH    METHOD. 

Let  the  first  pupil,  or  one  designated  by  the  teacher,  add 
the  whole  first  column  silently,  and,  only  telling  the  amount 


ARITHMETIC.  57 

aloud,  let  him  set  down  5.  Let  another  take  the  second 
column,  and,  declaring  the  amount  aloud,  let  him  set  down  1. 
Let  a  third  take  the  third  column,  and  declare,  and  set  down; 
and  so  on  to  the  end. 

FIFTH   METHOD. 

This  method  is  called  the  silent  method,  and  is  useful  when 
the  teacher  is  engaged  with  a  class,  and  wishes  to  keep  the 
rest  employed  so  as  not  to  be  interrupted  by  their  noise. 

The  monitor  stands  with  a  sponge.  The  first  pupil  adds 
the  first  column  silently,  and  sets  down  the  result  without 
saying  a  word.  If  correct,  the  monitor  nods  assent ;  if  wrong, 
he  rubs  out  the  figure  and  says  nothing.  The  next  child 
then  writes  the  amount  as  he  made  it ;  if  right,  it  stands  ;  if 
wrong,  the  monitor  erases  it.  Not  a  word  is  spoken.  If, 
when  one  has  missed,  the  next  is  not  ready  to  write,  those 
below  him  who  are  ready,  hold  up  the  right  hand,  and  the 
monitor  points  to  the  next  highest  to  go  to  the  board,  and,  if 
right,  to  go  above  both  the  one  who  missed,  and  the  one,  or 
more,  that  were  not  ready  to  correct  him. 

SIXTH    METHOD. 

This  is  the  most  animating,  and  resembles  the  fifth  method, 
except  that  each  pupil  is  furnished  with  a  piece  of  chalk,  and 
is  at  liberty  to  go  and  write  down  the  amount  of  the  column 
as  fast  as  he  can  add  it  up.  As  this  leads  to  great  activity 
and  a  lively  competition,  the  monitor  or  teacher  must  be  very 
expert  in  the  exercise,  prompt  in  erasing  errors,  and  careful 
to  see  fair  play.  If  the  pupils  are  seated  in  front  of  the 
board,  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  write  the  amount  of  a  col- 
umn unless  he  goes  from  his  seat  to  do  it.  Of  course,  after 
writing  a  figure,  right  or  wrong,  the  pupil  must  take  his  seat 
before  he  tries  again.  If  there  are  no  seats  for  the  pupils,  so 
much  the  better.  Let  a  semicircle  be  chalked  in  front  of  the 
board,  and  let  the  rule  be  that  no  one  not  toeing  the  circle, 
shall  be  allowed  to  write.  Of  course,  every  one  that  writes 
on  the  board  goes  to  his  place  before  he  tries  again. 

If  the  teacher  wishes  to  know  how  many  columns  are 
added  by  each  scholar,  he  has  only  to  lay  a  few  counters 
under  the  board,  and  let  each  pupil  who  adds  correctly,  take 
one,  and  keep  what  he  gets  till  the  end  of  the  lesson,  when 
the  number  obtained  by  each  may  be  recorded,  and  the  rank 
of  each  assigned,  if  it  be  the  custom  of  the  school.  Some- 


63  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

times,  when  the  scholars  are  very  quick  at  figures,  several 
will  rush  towards  the  board  at  a  time,  and  the  master  or  mon- 
itor being,  of  course,  very  active,  the  scene  is  very  interesting, 
and  faintly  resembles  the  scenes  in  the  Scotch  schoolrooms, 
so  graphically  described  by  Mr.  Mann  and  others. 

In  describing  these  methods,  I  have  confined  myself  to 
addition,  but  the  teacher  will  perceive  that  the  other  rules 
may  be  taught  in  the  same  manner,  and  it  is  unnecessary  for 
me  to  give  any  examples.  I  do  not  know  that  these  methods 
are  peculiar  to  me.  They  are  some  of  the  many  that  I  prac- 
tised years  ago,  for  I  always  endeavored  to  have  a  variety  of 
methods,  that  the  interest  of  the  pupils  might  never  flag.  I 
even  went  so  far  as,  once  or  twice  a  year,  to  alter  the  position 
of  the  seats,  which  were  movable.  My  own  desk,  too,  was 
wheeled  by  turns  to  every  side  of  the  schoolroom,  and  in 
this  way  all  the  interest  excited  by  a  new  schoolroom  was 
kept  up  in  an  old  one.  While  thus  shifting  about,  we  once 
tried  what  is  supposed  to  be  a  new  plan,  that  of  placing  the 
teacher's  desk  behind  the  children,  and  after  a  fair  experi- 
ment, I  gave  it  up  as  having  few  benefits  and  many  disad- 
vantages.   

In  teaching  Subtraction,  I  had  very  little,  probably,  that  is 
not  now  common  in  the  schools.  The  only  method  that  I 
have  not  seen  in  any  school  is  the  following,  which  I  learned 
from  a  German,  twenty  years  ago.  Suppose  I  am  required 
to  take  the  lower  line  of  the  following  sum  from  the  upper. 

706,145,832 
73,854,735 

In  teaching  on  the  old  plan  I  used  to  say,  "  Take  5  units 
from  2  units  I  can't.  Borrow  1  ten  from  the  3  tens,  and 
turn  it  into  units,  and  add  them  to  the  2  units,  and  say  5 
units  from  the  12  units  leave  7  units.  Then,  as  I  borrowed 
1  ten  and  did  not  take  it,  the  upper  3  is  1  more  than  it  ought 
to  be,  and  adding  1  to  the  3  below  and  calling  it  4,  will  be 
the  same  as  if  I  changed  the  upper  3  into  a  2  and  let  the 
lower  3  stand  as  it  is.  One  I  carry*  then  to  the  lower  3 

*  I  use  the  term  carry,  hut  it  is  an  incorrect  term,  because  I  really  carry 
nothing  from  one  figure  to  the  next.  When  a  column  of  units  amounts  to 
ten,  I  set  down  the  units  and  really  carry  the  tens  to  the  column  of  tens  ;  but, 
in  subtraction,  the  operation  is  giving  or  supposing-,  rather  than  carrying-. 
I  have  used  the  word  sum  also  for  operation,  example,  problem,  &c.,  because 
the  word  is  short  and  well  understood,  but  its  true  meaning  is  amount. 


ARITHMETIC.  59 

makes  4  of  it,  and  I  say,  Take  4  tens  from  3  tens  I  can't. 
I  borrow  1  hundred  from  the  8  hundreds,  and,  as  1  hun- 
dred is  10  tens,  I  add  the  10  tens  to  the  3  tens,  and  say  4  tens 
from  13  tens  leave  9  tens.  Set  9  under  the  3,  and,  as  before, 
call  the  7,  8,  because  when  you  borrowed  1  hundred  from 
the  8  you  did  not  take  it  away.  It  will  be  then  8  hundreds 
from  8  hundreds  leave  no  hundreds  ;  set  down  zero  under  the 
7,  and  proceed  to  the  thousands  place,"  and  so  on. 

If  the  teacher  pleases,  he  can  occasionally  allow  the  pupil, 
when  he  borrows  1,  to  take  it  from  the  upper  figure  and 
change  it.  But  this  is  often  a  more  intricate  operation  than 
that  I  have  described ;  for  if  the  next  upper  place  is  occupied 
by  a  zero,  nothing  can  be  borrowed,  and  the  next  must  be 
asked  for  a  loan.  Thus,  in  subtracting  1  unit  from  1  thou- 
sand, the  operation  is  as  follows : — 

1000 
1 


Take  1  unit  from  no  units,  I  cannot.  Borrow  1  ten  from  no 
tens,  I  cannot.  Borrow  1  unit  from  no  hundreds,  I  cannot. 
Borrow  1  unit  from  1  thousand  units  I  can;  and  this  brings  us 
to  the  starting  point  again,  so  that,  after  borrowing  like  a 
loafer,  I  am  no  better  off  than  when  I  began.  Still  it  is  well 
to  borrow,  and  alter  a  few  sums,  to  show  what  is  meant  by 
carrying. 

3,461,034 
896,458 

2^64^576 

By  the  old  method  of  carrying,  the  sum  would  stand  as  above  ; 
but,  if,  when  I  borrowed  from  the  upper  figures,  I  had  taken 
what  I  borrowed,  the  upper  line  would  stand  thus  after  the 
operation. 

2,350,924 
896,458 

2^564^576 

The  upper  line  is  so  altered  by  this  process  that  it  cannot 
be  recognized  ;  and,  as  the  figures  now  stand,  the  sum  can- 
not be  proved  in  the  old  way,  by  adding  the  smaller  sum  and 
the  remainder  together  to  equal  the  larger  sum.  It  is  often 


60  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

'  useful  and  necessary  to  preserve  the  figures  of  the  larger  sum, 
and  it  causes  some  trouble  to  restore  them  after  the  above 
transformation. 

The  German  method  to  which  I  have  alluded,  does  sub- 
traction by  addition. 

3,461,034 
896,458 

In  doing  the  above  sum,  I  say  to  the  first  pupil,  8  and  how 
many  make  14  ?  6,  he  says,  and  sets  6  under  the  8.  As  in 
addition,  with  which  the  child  is  acquainted,  1  must  be 
carried  for  14.  Then  say,  1  carried  to  5  makes  6,  and  6 
and  how  many  make  13  ?  7,  says  the  child.  Then  set  7 
under  the  5,  and  carry  1  to  the  4,  saying,  1  and  4  are  5,  and 
5  and  how  many  make  10  ?  5,  says  the  child.  Then  set  5 
under  the  4,  carry  1  to  the  6,  and  so  continue  till  the  work  is 
completed.  As,  at  last,  1  will  be  carried  to  the  vacant  place 
of  millions,  the  question  will  be,  1  and  how  many  make  3  ? 
Set  down  the  2,  and  the  sum  is  done. 

My  pupils  have  more  readily  fallen  into  this  method  than 
into  the  old  one,  and  one  method  of  applying  it  is  very 
popular,  especially  in  the  silent  exercise  on  the  black-board. 
Suppose  I  am  worth  375,484  dollars,  and  owe  to  several  per- 
sons the  following  sums  :  38,654  dollars ;  87,263  dollars  ; 
74,269  dollars  ;  69,745  dollars  ;  and  80,676  dollars  ;  required 
how  much  I  shall  have  left  after  paying  these  debts. 

375,484    Minuend. 


38,654 
87,268 
74,269 
69,745 
80,676 


Subtrahend. 


$24,872     Remainder. 


I  begin  with  the  right  hand  column,  and  say,  6,  11,  20,  28, 
32,  and  2  make  34.  I  add  as  many  tens  as  will  make  the  top 
sum  more  than  the  amount  of  the  column,  and  then  what  I 
must  add  to  make  the  sums  equal  is  what  I  must  set  under 
the  column.  Carry,  as  in  addition,  one  for  every  ten.  The 
first  column  amounting  to  32, 1  borrow  three  tens  and  call  the 


ARITHMETIC.  61 

4  over  the  column  34,  and,  of  course,  the  column  of  32  needs 
2  to  make  it  34. 

Then  I  carry  3,  and  say,  3,  10,  14,  20,  26,  31,  and  7  are 
38 ;  set  down  7,  and  carry  3 ;  —  and  so  on  to  the  end. 

The  Germans,  I  am  told,  carry  this  method  of  Subtraction 
into  Long  Division  also,  and  as  it  is  a  good  exercise  of  the 
arithmetical  memory,  I  will  give  a  specimen. 

7948 )  54607.6845  ( 68,706 
6919.6 


492.45 
1557 

I  say  6  times  8  are  48,  and  9  are  57.  I  set  the  9  tinder  the 
7,  and  go  on,  remembering  that  I  have  5  to  carry.  6  times  4 
are  24,  and  5  to  carry  are  29,  and  1  makes  30.  Set  down  1 
and  carry  3.  6  times  9  are  54,  and  3  to  carry  are  57,  and  9 
are  66.  Set  down  9  and  carry  6.  6  times  7  are  42,  and  6  to 
carry  are  48,  and  6  are  54.  Set  down  6.  6919  is  the 
remainder  after  the  multiplication  and  subtraction.  Then 
bring  down  the  6,  and  multiply  by  8,  &c.  This  method  saves 
the  making  of  20  figures.  The  dots  are  used  merely  to  show 
what  figures  are  brought  down. 

It  was  the  custom  of  my  classes  to  do  twenty  or  thirty  sums 
in  Subtraction  in  half  an  hour,  and  the  difference  between  this 
amount  of  practice  and  that  I  obtained  when  at  school,  is 
somewhat  remarkable.  My  teacher  was  so  aged  that,  to  my 
boyish  mind,  he  divided  the  whole  course  of  time  with  Methu- 
selah. He  wore  a  white  wig,  on  the  back  of  which  the  boys 
sometimes  lodged  chips  and  quill-tops.  His  vest  was  long, 
with  pocket  flaps  that  half  covered  his  thighs.  He  wore 
breeches,  white  stockings,  and  shoes  with  large  buckles.  I 
never  heard  a  word  against  his  character,  for  he  had  none, 
and  was  so  harmless  that  I  can  almost  forgive  the  School 
Committee  of  Boston,  who  kept  him  in  office  a  quarter  of  a 
century  after  he  had  become  unable  to  do  the  duties  of  "a 
master  of  this  double-headed  school  of  about  500  boys  and 
girls.  No  boy  had  a  printed  Arithmetic,  but,  every  other  day, 
a  sum  or  two  was  set  in  each  manuscript,  to  be  ciphered  on, 
the  slate,  shown  up,  and,  if  right,  copied  into  the  manuscript. 
6 


62  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Two  sums  were  all  that  were  allowed  in  Subtraction,  and 
this  number  was  probably  as  many  as  the  good  man  could  set 
for  each  boy.  This  ciphering  occupied  two  hours,  or  rather 
consumed  two,  and  the  other  hour  was  employed  in  writing 
one  page  in  a  copy-book.  Once,  when  I  had  done  my  two 
sums  in  Subtraction,  and  set  them  in  my  book,  and  been  idle 
an  hour,  I  ventured  to  go  to  the  master's  desk  and  ask  him  to 
be  so  good  as  to  set  me  another  sum.  His  amazement  at  my 
audacity  was  equal  to  that  of  the  almshouse  steward  when 
the  half-starved  Oliver  Twist  "  asked  for  more."  He  looked 
at  me,  twitched  my  manuscript  towards  him,  and  said,  guttu- 
rally,  "  Eh !  you  gnarly  wretch,  you  are  never  satisfied  ! "  I 
had  never  made  such  a  request  before,  nor  did  I  ever  make 
another  afterwards.  On  the  black-board,  which  was  unknown 
in  those  days,  a  pupil  may  now  get  more  practice  in  one  hour 
than  I  got  in  one  month. 

In  teaching  Multiplication,  I  had  no  method  that  I  have  not 
seen  in  good  schools  of  the  present  day.  The  Table  was 
taught  usually  before  the  child  began  to  cipher,  for  it  was  said 
and  sung  by  the  whole  school  for  recreation,  and  the  little 
children  caught  it  from  the  older  pupils  before  they  were 
required  to  use  it.  If,  however,  a  new  scholar  wished  to 
learn  it,  she  practised  multiplying  by  2  on  the  black-board  till 
she  knew  the  line  ;  then  she  took  3  times  until  this  was  famil- 
iar. She  was  required  too  to  rule  144  squares  upon  her  slate, 
or  on  paper,  and  make  Table  after  Table  for  herself  without 
any  guide  or  assistance. 

It  may  be  of  use,  however,  for  the  child  to  know  that  he 
may  begin  to  multiply  on  the  left  as  well  as  on  the  right,  and 
that  Multiplication  may  be  made  Addition.  Thus,  if  I  wish 
to  find  8  times  D678, 1  may  do  it  in  the  old  way  from  right  to 
left: 

9678  or  9678 

8  8 


77,424  64 

560 

4800 

72000 


77,424 


ARITHMETIC. 


63 


Or  I  may  do  it  from  left  to  right,  thus : 

9,678 
8 


72,000 

4,800 

560 

64 

77,424 

I  say  8  times  9  thousand  are  72  thousand,  and  I  set  down 
the  whole  amount.  Then  8  times  6  hundred  are  48  hundred, 
and  set  down  the  whole.  8  times  7  tens  are  56  tens ;  and  8 
times  8  units  are  64  units.  There  is  clearly  a  loss  of  time  in 
this  manner,  but  to  a  beginner  it  may  communicate  a  clear 
idea  of  the  contracted  form  in  which  die  operation  is  usually 
performed. 

Finally,  the  child  may  write  the  sum  eight  times,  and  add 
the  sums  together. 

In  Division  the  children  must  be  required,  at  first  certainly, 
if  not  always,  to  explain  the  common  method  by  a  process  like 
the  following : 


6 )  674,352 
112,392 


6 )  674,352 


600,000 

70,000 

„  14,000 

2300 

550 

12 


100,000 

10,000 

2,000 

300 

90 

2 


112,392 


That  is,  instead  of  saying  6  is  contained  in  6  once,  let  the  pu- 
pil say,  6  is  contained  in  6  hundred  thousand  1  hundred  thou- 
sand times.  6  is  contained  in  7  ten  thousands  1  ten  thousand 
times,  and  1  ten  thousand- over.  1  ten  thousand  is  10  unit 
thousands,  and  4  more  unit  thousands  make  14  unit  thousands, 
in  which  6  is  contained  2  thousand  times,  and  2  unit  thousands 
over.  2  thousands  are  20  hundreds,  and  3  are  23  hundreds, 
in  which  6  is  contained  300  times  and  5  hundreds  over.  5 
hundreds  are  50  tens,  and  5  are  55  tens,  in  which  6  is  con- 


64  THE    TEACHEBS'   INSTITUTE. 

tained  9  tens  of  times-  and  1  ten  over.  1  ten  is  ten  units,  and 
2  units  are  12  units,  in  which  6  is  contained  2  units  times. 

I  always  found  Long  Division  a  more,  difficult  operation  to 
children  than  any  other  portion  of  the  elementary  rules,  and 
some  of  my  methods  of  explaining  it  may  not  be  useless  to 
young  teachers,  who  should  try  to  have  more  ways  than  one. 

One  way  was  to  do  Short  Division  long  fashion,  to  show 
that  there  is  no  difference  in  the  manner,  hut  only  in  the 
difficulty  of  carrying  the  remainders  in  the  mind.  Thus  the 
sum  first  explained  : 

6  )  674,352 
112,392 

if  done  at  length,  and  not  in  the  mind,  will  appear  thus  : 

6  )  674,352  (  112,392  or  thus  :  —  6  )  674,352  (  112,392 
6  600,000 

~7~  74,352 

6  60,000 

14  14,352 

12  12,000 

~23  2,352 

18  1,800 

~55  552 

54  540 


12  12 

But  the  child  soon  learns  how  to  multiply  and  subtract,  and 
is  only  puzzled  to  know  how  many  times  the  divisor  will 
go,  as  the  old  term  was,  that  is,  how  many  times  it  is  con- 
tained in  the  dividend,  or  a  portion  of  the  dividend.  The 
rule  for  this  is  so  simple  that  I  should  not  waste  a  word  on  it, 
had  I  not  discovered  at  the  Institutes,  that  many  young  teach- 
ers have  no  rule  but  to  try  till  the  remainder  comes  less  than 
the  divisor.  Let  us  take  the  following  rule,  viz.  :  "  If  the 
figures  of  the  divisor  amount  to  more  than  an  equal  number  of 
figures  in  the  dividend,  one  more  figure  of  the  dividend  must 
be  taken.  Then  see  how  many  times  the  first  figure  of  the 


ARITHMETIC.  65 

divisor  is  contained  in  the  first  two  of  the  dividend,  and  this 
will  generally  give  the  right  number  of  times  for  the  whole 
sum,  if  the  second  figure  of  the  divisor  is  less  than  5.  If  it  is 
more  than  5,  suppose  the  first  figure  of  the  divisor  to  be  one 
more  than  it  is,  and  then  see  how  many  times  the  supposed 
figure  is  contained  in  the  first  two  of  the  dividend.  Let  us 
try  this  rule. 

First  with  the  2d  figure  less  than  5, 

6294 )  88469687  ( 14056 
6  is  in  8,  once.  6294 

25529 
6  is  in  25,  4  times.     25176 


6  is  in  3  no  times.          35368 
6  is  in  35,  5  times.         31470 


389S7 
6  is  in  38,  6  times.  37764 

1223 

Next  with  the  2d  figure  more  than  5. 

7846  )  60298749  ( 7685 
8  in  60,  7  times.         54922  •  •  • 

53767 
8  in  53,  6  times.  47076 


66914 
8  in  66,  8  times.  62768 


41469 
8  in  41,  5  times.  39230 


2239 

This  rule  will  not  always  succeed  so  invariably,  but  it  will 
always  come  so  near  that  the  true  number  can  be  seen  with- 
out further  guessing. 

The  teacher,  however,  may  always  be  certain,  if,  when  he 
has  any  doubt  of  the  rule,  he  multiplies  the  two  first  figures 


** 


66  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

of  the  divisor  to  see  whether  what  he  has  to  carry  Till 
exceed  the  figures  in  the  dividend.  For  example,  take  the 
following. 

657489  )  6473291476  (  9 

The  second  figure  being  neither  more  nor  less  than  5,  it 
will  not  do  to  rely  upon  calling  the  first  7  or  6.  6  would  be 
contained  in  64,  10  times,  and  7  would  be  contained  9  times. 
Is  9  right  ?  Multiply  the  6  and  5  of  the  divisor  by  9,  in  the 
mind,  and  see  if  it  exceeds  the  647  of  the  dividend.  585 
being  less,  the  probability  is  that  the  whole  6  figures  of  the 
divisor  will  go  into  the  first  7  figures  of  the  dividend.  Again, 
try  the  following  : 

89694  )  8109687876  ( 

Call  8,  9,  and  will  it  be  contained  9  times  in  81  ?  The 
answer  is,  certainly  ;  because,  if  9  is  contained,  any  number 
less  than  9,  even  8  -j^,  must  be.  But  suppose  the  sum  were, 


89694)8,009,687,876(8 

will  9  be  contained  9  times,  or  only  S  times,  in  the  80  ?  Try 
the  first  two  figures  by  9.  Nine  times  89  are  801,  which  is 
more  than  the  eight  hundred  of  the  dividend,  and  you  may  be 
sure  9  is  too  many,  and  8  just  enough. 

A  few  dozen  sums  done  by  the  class  on  a  black-board,  will 
make  quite  small  pupils  familiar  with  this  rule,  and  will  save 
them  from  a  deal  of  trouble 

The  pupils  must  at  first  be  taught  what  to  call  the  figures 
of  the  quotient.  For  instance,  when  they  find,  as  in  the  last 
example,  that  89,694  is  contained  8  times  in  800968,  the 
question  must  be  settled  whether  the  8  in  the  quotient  is  8 
units,  8  tens,  8  hundreds,  or  what  it  is.  The  rule  is  easy  ; 
the  8  is  whatever  the  last  figure  of  that  portion  of  the  divi- 
dend used  to  produce  it  is.  800968  is  used,  and  the  first 
figure  of  the  quotient  is  the  same  as  the  right  hand  8,  and 
this  is  tens  of  thousands.  The  pupil  may  then  know  that  the 
quotient  must  contain  five  figures,  or  it  cannot  be  right.  I 
have  sometimes  required  the  pupil,  in  such  cases,  to  set  down 
zeros  a't  the  right  hand  of  the  first  figure  in  the  quotient,  and 
rub  them  out  and  supply  others  as  the  sum  proceeded.  This 
will  prevent  his  omitting  to  place  zeros  in  the  quotient  when 


ARITHMETIC.  67 

a  figure  has  been  brought  down  to  the  previous  remainder, 
and  the  amount  is  not  great  enough  to  contain  the  divisor. 

89694)  8,009,687,876  (80000 
717552  93 


834167          89,300  times. 
807246 


269218 
269082 

13676 

The  only  other  point  of  arithmetic  to  which  I  shall  call  the 
attention  of  the  young  teacher,  is  a  method  of  explaining  what 
are  called  Compound  Addition,.  Subtraction,  Multiplication  and 
Division.    I  once  passed  one  of  my  classes,  and  found  the  mon- 
itor playing,  as  I  supposed,  instead  of  teaching  her  class  in 
Compound  Division.     On  inquiry,  however,  I  found  that  she 
had  been  unable  to  make  the  class  fully  comprehend  the  opera- 
tion, and  she  had  adopted  a  plan  not  unlike  that  I  have  pro- 
Sosed  for  showing  the  increase  of  figures  from  right  to  left  in 
ecimal  arithmetic. 

She  had  taken  large  square  pieces  of  paper  which  she 
called  pounds.  She  had  cut  some  of  these  into  20  pieces 
called  shillings,  some  of  the  shillings  into  12  parts  called 
pence,  and  some  of  the  pence  into  4  parts  called  farthings. 
She  had  then  chalked  a  sum  on  the  black-board  thus :  — 


£. 
2)3. 

s. 
15. 

d. 
6. 

q- 

1.       17.        8. 


and  she  had  placed  3  of  the  pieces  representing  pounds  in 
one  pile,  15  of  the  shilling  pieces  in  another  pile,  6  of  the 
penny  pieces  in  another,  and  2  of  the  farthing  pieces  on 
the  right  of  the  other  piles.  Then  she  had  begun  to  divide 
by  2,  and  had  placed  1  pound  piece  under  the  3.  The 
pound  piece  that  remained  she  cut  up  into  20  pieces,  and 
added  them  to  the  15.  Then  she  placed  17  of  the  pieces 
under  the  shilling  place.  The  odd  shilling  she  cut  into  12 
penny  pieces,  which  she  added  to  the  5,  making  17.  Then 
she  divided  by  2,  putting  8  pieces  in  the  pence  place.  The 
odd  penny  she  carried  to  farthings  by  cutting  it  up,  and  then; 


68  THE    TEACHEES'   INSTITUTE. 

dividing  the  6  farthings  by  2,  she  placed  three  farthing 
pieces  in  their  proper  order. 

She  then  performed  the  same  sum  on  the  black-board,  and 
compared  the  results.  This  was  done  by  a  monitor  under 
fourteen  years  of  age,  who  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  any 
such  method  of  explanation  ;  and  it  may  well  put  to  shame 
some  teachers  who  have  ventured  to  say  that  monitors  cannot 
teach.  I  saw  at  once  the  simplicity  of  the  illustration  and 
immediately  had  suitable  pieces  of  pasteboard  prepared,  not 
only  to  illustrate  Compound  Division,  but  Addition,  Subtrac- 
tion, Multiplication  and  Reduction  ascending  and  descending, 
as  the  two  operations  are  called.  I  had  also  a  set  of  blocks 
to  explain  solid  or  cubic  measure. 

All  such  apparatus  the  teacher  can  get  without  expense,  if 
he  is  as  expert  at  whittling  as  a  Yankee  ought  to  be  to  uphold 
the  national  character. 


MENTAL    ARITHMETIC. 

In  Mental  Arithmetic  I  did  less  at  the  Institutes  than  in 
written  arithmetic,  for  the  reason  that  other  teachers  preferred 
to  devote  themselves  to  arithmetic,  and  to  me  all  branches 
were  equally  agreeable.  It  was  my  custom  very  early  to 
introduce  my  pupils  to  this  study,  because  it  afforded  relief  to 
their  minds,  and,  oftentimes,  quiet  and  innocent  amusement. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  explain  at  large  my  course 
with  beginners ;  for  the  Child's  Arithmetic  contains  my  plan, 
and  has  been  recommended  to  teachers  by  Mr.  Palmer  in  his 
Teacher's  Manual,  and  by  the  authors  of  the  School  and 
Schoolmaster.  The  leading  feature  of  the  plan  is  the  constant 
illustration  of  every  elementary  principle  by  the  use  of  sensi- 
ble objects.  It  contains  full  exercise  for  children  "from  three 
to  seven  years  of  age,  and,  although  primarily  intended  to  be 
an  introduction  to  Colburn's  First  Lessons,  it  is  well  fitted  to 
precede  any  arithmetic  that  is  fit  to  be  used  at  the  present 
day. 

After  the  child  is  familiar  with  this  little  book,  he  will  be 
prepared  to  relish  those  more  advanced;  and,  in  teaching 
these,  the  same  system  of  illustration  must  be  continued, 
whether  the  book  provides  for  it  or  not.  If  the  pupil  has 
been  properly  taught  the  Child's  Arithmetic,  he  will  have  a 
clear  idea  of  the  elements  of  calculation,  will  be  accustomed 


ARITHMETIC.  O9 

to  reason  clearly,  and  to  exercise  his  mind  without  distraction 
upon  more  difficult  problems.  By  all  means,  oblige  him  to 
perform  the  calculations  mentally,  and  without  the  aid  of  the 
book.  It  is  not  many  years  since  a  convention  of  teachers,  in 
one  of  the  counties  of  this  state,  were  astonished  at  the 
unreasonableness  of  a  gentleman,  who  required  them  to  close 
their  books,  and  to  keep  them  closed,  while  he  proposed  a 
question  for  them  to  solve. 

I  shall  not  describe  the  various  methods  pursued  by 
myself  or  others  in  teaching  mental  arithmetic,  but  shall 
content  myself  with  giving  an  example  or  two  as  I  have  seen 
them  performed  by  my  friend  William  Clough,  one  of  the  most 
thorough  teachers  of  this  beautiful  science  that  I  have  ever 
known,  who  lately  taught  one  of  our  State  Normal  Schools, 
and  is  now  Principal  of  an  Academy  at  St.  Charles,  in  the 
State  of  Missouri. 

The  peculiarity  of  his  method  of  teaching  is,  that  he 
requires  the  reason  of  every  step  to  be  more  distinctly  stated 
than  usual,  and  he  is  careful  to  introduce  many  incidental 
questions  that  arise  during  the  solution. 

Suppose,  then,  the  question  to  be  the  first  in  Colburn's 
First  Lessons,  p.  81,  Letter  B.  "  Four  fifths  of  fifteen  is  six 
tenths  of  how  many  thirds  of  twenty-one  ?  " 

The  pupil  says,  "  Two  and  f  thirds  of  21 ;"  and  then  proves 
the  answer  as  follows  :  "  One  fifth  of  15  is  3  ; — four  fifths  of 
15  are  four  times  as  much,  and  4  times  3  are  12. — If  12  be 
six  tenths  of  some  number,  one  sixth  of  12  must  be  one 
tenth  of  the  same  number,  because  one  tenth  of  any  number 
is  one  sixth  of  6  tenths  of  that  number.  One  sixth  of  12  is 
2,  and  2  is  the  tenth  of  ten  times  2,  which  is  20. — One  third 
of  21  is  7,  and  7  is  contained  in  20  two  and  six  sevenths 
times.  Therefore,  4  fifths  of  15  is  6  tenths  of  two  and  six 
sevenths  thirds  of  21." 

Among  the  incidental  questions  asked  would,  perhaps,  be 
the  following.  "  You  say  £  of  15  is  3, — how  do  you  know 
this  ?  "  or,  "  Can  you  prove  this  ?  "  The  pupil  says,  "  A  fifth  of 
15  is  fifteen  times  as  much  as  a  fifth  of  1,  — 15  times  one 
fifth  of  1  is  15  fifths  of  1 ;  —  5  fifths  of  1  make  1 ;  and  if  5 
fifths  of  1  make  1,  15  fifths  of  1  will  make  as  many  ones  as 
5  fifths  of  one  are  contained  times  in  15  fifths  of  1 — 5  fifths 
of  1  are  contained  in  15  fifths  of  1  three  times ;  therefore,  one 
fifth  of  15  is  3." 

Again,  "  You  say  2  is  the  tenth  of  10  times  2 ;  how  do  you 


70  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

know  this  ?"  The  pupil  replies,  "  2  is  the  same  as  one  time 
2,  and  one  time  2  is  the  tenth  of  10  times  2 ;  therefore,  2  is 
the  tenth  of  10  times  2." 

This  is  an  abstract  question,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is 
the  best  I  could  have  selected  ;  I  will  endeavor,  therefore,  to 
give  an  example  of  what  Colburn  terms  a  concrete  question. 
First  Lessons,  page  78,  Question  19. 

2.  If  4  men  can  do  a  piece  of  work  in  8  days,  how  many 
men  would  it  take  to  do  the  same  work  in  4  days  ? 

The  pupil  says,  "  8  men  ; — for  if  4  men  can  do  the  work  in 
8  days,  it  will  take  8  times  as  many  men  to  do  it  in  1  day, 
because  1  day  is  an  eighth  of  8  days,  and  the  less  the  number 
of  days  the  more  men  it  will  require  to  do  the  work.  One 
eighth  of  the  number  of  days  takes  8  times  the  number  of 
men.  8  times  4  men  are  32  men  ;  therefore,  if  4  men  can  do 
a  piece  of  work  in  8  days,  it  will  take  32  men  to  do  the  same 
work  in  one  day.  If  1  day  require  32  men  to  do  the  work,  4 
days  will  require  one  fourth  as  many  men  to  do  the  same 
work,  because  the  more  days  there  are,  the  fewer  men  will 
be  required; — 4  times  the  number  of  days  will  require  one 
fourth  the  number  of  men ;  —  one  fourth  of  32  men  is  8  men  ; 
—  therefore,  if  4  men  can  do  a  piece  of  work  in  8  days,  it 
will  take  8  men  to  do  the  work  in  4  days." 

3.  Page   102,  Question  39.     "  A  man  bought  six  sevenths 
of  a  cask  of  raisins  for  five  dollars  ;  what  was  the  whole  cask 
worth?" 

The  pupil  says,  "  Five  dollars  and  five  sixths  of  a  dollar." 
If  the  man  bought  six  sevenths  of  a  cask  for  5  dollars,  he 
bought  one  seventh  of  a  cask  of  raisins  for  one  sixth  of  five 
dollars,  or  for  one  sixth  as  much ;  because,  one  seventh  of  a 
cask  is  one  sixth  of  six  sevenths  of  the  cask,  and  the  less  the 
quantity  of  raisins  he  bought,  the  less  the  money  they  cost ; 
or,  the  less  the  number  of  sevenths  of  a  cask  he  bought,  the 
less  the  number  of  dollars  they  cost,  —  £  of  the  quantity  of 
raisins,  £  of  the  money  they  cost — £  of  5  dollars  is  %  of  1 
dollar, — therefore,  if  a  man  bought  f  of  a  cask  of  raisins  for 
5  dollars,  he  bought  ^  of  the  cask  for  %  of  a  dollar.  If  he 
bought  ^  of  a  cask  for  £  of  a  dollar,  he  bought  If  of  a  whole 
cask  for  seven  times  as  much,  because  the  greater  the  quan- 
tity of  raisins  he  bought,  the  more  money  they  cost.  7  times  5 
sixths  of  a  dollar  are  35  sixths  of  a  dollar,  which  is  equal  to  5 
dollars  and  %  of  a  dollar.  Therefore,  if  a  man  bought  f  of  a 
cask  of  raisins  for  5  dollars,  the  whole  cask  was  worth  5  dol- 
lars and  |  of  a  dollar. 


ARITHMETIC.  71 

The  incidental  questions  might  be,  "  How  do  you  know 
that  £  of  5  dollars  is  £  of  1  dollar  ?  How  do  you  know  that 
35  sixths  of  a  dollar  are  equal  to  $5  and  £  of  a  dollar  ?  " 

4.  Page  103,  Question  46.  "  12  is  I  of  what  number?" 
The  pupil  says,  "8f.  If  12  be  \  of  some  number,  f  of  12 
must  be  \  of  the  number,  because  -£  of  any  number  is  ^  of  \ 
of  that  number;  \  of  12  is  *?-  of  1— if  ^  of  1  be  |  of 
some  number,  f ,  or  the  whole  of  that  number,  must  be  5  times 
as  much — 5  times  12  sevenths  are  60  sevenths,  which  is 
equal  to  8f — therefore,  12  is  -£  of  8f."  Several  incidental  or 
review  questions  would  also  be  put. 

5th.  Page  105,  Question  13.  How^  many  yards  of  cloth 
that  is  three  quarters  wide  are  equal  to  7  yards  of  cloth  that 
is  five  quarters  wide?"  The  pupil  says  "  11§  yards.  If  5 
quarters  width  require  7  yards  in  length,  1  quarter  wide  will 
require  5  times  as  many  yards  in  length; — because  1  quarter 
wide  is  \  of  5  quarters  wide,  and  the  less  the  width  the 
greater  the  length — \  of  the  width,  5  times  the  length — 5 
times  7  yards  are  35  yards;  —  therefore,  if  5  quarters  wide 
require  7  yards  in  length,  1  quarter  wide  will  require  35 
yards  in  length ;  if  1  quarter  wide  require  35  yards  in  length, 
3  quarters  wide  will  require  -J  of  that  length,  because  the 
greater  the  width,  the  less  the  length, — 3  times  the  width,  % 
the  length;  —  £  °f  35  yards  is  llf  yards; — therefore,  11| 
yards  of  cloth  that  is  3  quarters  wide  are  equal  to  7  yards 
that  is  5  quarters  wide." 

This  must  suffice  for  arithmetic;  and  I  shall  say  nothing 
of  algebra,  because  I  did  not  teach  it  at  the  Institutes,  and,  in 
my  opinion,  it  ought  never  to  be  taught  in  the  common 
schools.  I  shall  never  forget  one  occasion  when  some  of  Mr. 
Clough's  pupils,  who  had  never  studied  algebra,  but  who  had 
been  well  instructed  in  Colburn's  First  Lessons,  had  a  contest 
with  some  young  teachers  who  had  studied  algebra,  Tower's 
Intellectual  Algebra  furnishing  the  problems.  The  arithme- 
ticians solved  the  questions  by  arithmetic  in  one  fourth  of  the 
time  required  by  the  algebraists,  and,  except  in  quadratic 
equations,  this  disparity  was  kept  up  with  ease.  If  it  fell  within 
the  scope  of  this  volume,  I  should  more  at  large  consider  the 
popular  error  of  introducing  algebra  into  common  schools  of 
boys,  and  the  all  but  folly  of  teaching  it,  in  any  school,  to 
girls.  I  do  not  call  in  question  the  ability  of  the  females  to 
learn  algebra,  but  the  utility,  and,  of  course,  the  policy,  of 
teaching  them  what  they  will  never  use. 


72  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Let  me  add  that  if  any  young  teacher  wishes  to  see  arith- 
metic, algebra,  and  mathematics  taught  as  they  should  be 
taught,  he  cannot  do  better  than  to  visit  either  of  our  normal 
schools  ;  for,  so  different  is  the  manner  of  teaching  at  these 
schools  from  the  manner  prevalent  in  the  districts,  that  one 
who  has  often  visited  them  can  tell  a  normal  pupil,  by  his 
management,  about  as  readily  as  he  can  tell  a  veteran  from  a 
raw  recruit. 

Besides  the  usual  method  of  proposing  the  question  to  the 
whole  class,  waiting  a  reasonable  time,  and  then  selecting 
some  pupil  to  give  the  answer,  and  explain  the  process  by 
which  he  arrived  at  it,  I  had  another  method,  which,  on  some 
occasions,  was  very  useful. 

Every  pupil  was  furnished  with  a  slip  of  paper,  about  four 
inches  by  one.  The  question  was  given  distinctly  to  the 
whole  class  ;  each  scholar  set  the  answer  at  the  top  of  her  slip 
of  paper,  and  brought  it,  and  laid  it  upon  my  book.  If  the 
answer  was  right,  it  was  numbered  from  one  onward;  if 
wrong,  I  marked  w  against  it,  and  she  could  try  again,  if 
there  was  time.  To  prevent  confusion,  only  one  showed  her 
paper  at  a  time,  the  rest  forming  a  line,  and  giving  up  in  turn. 
If  any  failed  to  get  right,  they  were  all  numbered  alike,  the 
next  after  the  last  who  gave  the  answer  correctly.  Nothing 
but  the  answer  was  allowed  to  be  written  on  the  paper. 

At  the  end  of  the  lesson,  the  pupil's  name  was  written  at 
the  bottom  of  her  answers,  and  the  slip  of  paper  furnished 
materials  for  the  class  record.  In  this  way,  every  child  had 
to  do  the  work;  and  if  any  one  who  did  not  answer  cor- 
rectly requested  an  explanation,  I  designated  some  one  who 
had  obtained  a  number,  to  explain, — and  sometimes  several 
were  called  on,  until  some  one  made  the  process  intelligible 
to  the  pupil  who  called  for  the  explanation.  This  method  I 
used  much  for  practice,  after  a  principle  had  been  explained. 
Every  pupil  stood  during  the  lesson  ;  and  as  all  were  obliged 
to  walk,  the  exercise  afforded  relief  after  confinement  at  any 
lesson  that  did  not  admit  of  such  locomotion.  If  I  do  not 
forget  it,  I  shall  hereafter  have  more  to  say  on  the  utility  of 
standing  and  moving,  as  far  as  it  can  be  done  without  con- 
fusion, during  recitations. 


73 


WRITING. 

WHEN  I  first  became  a  teacher,  writing  was  an  affair  alto- 
gether different  from  what  it  is  now.  Metallic  pens  had  not 
been  introduced,  and  more  than  half  the  business  of  a  writing- 
master  was  the  making  and  mending  of  pens.  After  enduring 
this  task  one  week,  seeing  that  it  made  a  slave  of  me,  I  called 
about  twenty  of  the  best  pupils  around  me,  furnished  each 
with  a  knife,  if  he  or  she  had  none,  and  then  made  several 
pens  before  their  eyes,  explaining  every  part  of  the  process. 
Then,  each  took  a  quill  and  cut  just  as  fast  as  I  did,  waiting 
at  every  step  to  have  the  work  inspected.  When  the  pens 
were  made,  I  tried  each  one,  pointed  out  its  defects  to  the 
whole  class,  and  then  showed  them  how  to  mend  it.  I  then 
promised  a  reward  to  every  pupil  who  made  his  own  pens  for 
a  week ;  and  that  they  might  have  practice,  I  told  them  I 
should  never  make  another  pen  for  any  of  them.  I  never  had 
occasion  to  make  one  afterwards;  but,  from  that  time  forward, 
I  had  pupils  enough  who  could  make  as  good  pens  as  I  could, 
and  who  made  for  the  smaller  children,  and  for  their  families 
at  home. 

Once,  at  least,  in  a  term,  I  instituted  a  reward  for  the  best 
pen.  Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  I  selected  one  pen 
and  gave  a  prize  only  to  that ;  I  could  not  be  guilty  of  such 
injustice.  My  rule  in  this  exercise,  and  in  all  others,  was  to 
reward  all  in  proportion  to  their  deserts.  If  there  were  ten 
bests,  all  fared  alike,  and  the  poorest,  if  at  all  deserving,  had 
all  that  he  deserved.  If  in  any  district  school  the  goosequill 
is  still  used,  I  recommend  to  the  teacher  to  try  a  similar  course; 
and,  if  there  is  no  other  way  to  supply  knives,  let  him  buy 
two  or  three,  and  keep  them  to  lend  for  this  purpose,  and  for 
no  other. 

The  course  of  teaching  that  I  had  adopted  led  me  to  see,  at 
an  early  stage,  that  I  must  make  every  pupil  learn  to  write, 
and  that  I  could  do  this  better,  and  in  much  less  time,  if  I 
qualified  myself  to  teach  them.  To  compel  myself  to  practise, 
I  set  all  the  copies  for  a  long  time,  and  never  used  what  are 
called  copperplate  slips.  When  some  of  my  pupils  became 
7 


74 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


good  writers,  I  obliged  them  to  set  copies  for  the  beginners, 
but,  to  the  last,  I  always  set  all  the  copies  for  my  best  writers 
and  assistants,  and  inspected  all  the  copies  set  by  the  assist- 
ants. The  only  system  of  penmanship  that  I  used  was  the 
very  simple  one  to  which  I  have  alluded  under  the  head  of 
Spelling,  and  this  I  shall  now  attempt  to  explain  somewhat 
more  in  detail. 

Eight  against  the  wall,  back  of  my  desk,  and  in  full  view 
of  the  whole  school,  was  a  long  black-board,  about  ten  feet  by 
eighteen  inches,  ruled  like  the  specimen  that  follows  : 


The  lines  were  cut  into  the  board  before  it  was  painted,  and, 
although  the  board  was  used  constantly  for  seventeen  years, 
the  lines  were  sufficiently  distinct  to  the  last,  and  the  board 
needed  to  be  repainted  only  two  or  thi'ee  times,  and  this  work 
I  did  myself.  I  mention  this  fact,  not  to  imply  that  my  patrons 
were  unwilling  to  pay  for  the  painting,  but  because  I  put  on  a 
better  coat  than  the  painter  would  have  done.  I  have  often 
been  told  by  young  teachers  that  they  should  like  black-boards, 
but  the  committee  would  not  procure  any.  I  have  no  respect 
for  such  teachers,  for  one  who  cannot  get  a  wide  board,  and 
plane  it,  and  paint  it,  has  not  ingenuity  enough  to  be  intrusted 
with  a  school.  Besides,  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  town  in 
Massachusetts  whose  carpenters  and  painters  are  so  mean 
that  they  will  not  aid  the  district  teacher  in  getting  up  as  many 
black-boards  as  he  wants.  While  I  was  teaching  at  some  of 
the  Institutes,  I  showed  the  teachers  how  to  paint  diagrams 
on  cloth,  and  when  I  found  the  village  painter,  and  told  him 
what  I  wanted,  and  why  I  wanted,  brushes,  pots  and  paints 
were  placed  at  my  disposal,  and,  in  every  case,  compensation 
was  refused.  The  charge  that  committees  will  not  furnish 


WRITING.  75 

black-boards  cannot  be  well  founded,  except,  perhaps,  in  cases 
where  the  committee  have  no  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
teacher  to  make  any  good  use  of  them.  But  I  maintain  that 
the  teacher,  if  he  is  fit  to  teach,  is  independent  of  the  com- 
mittee in  regard  to  black-boards,  and  can  make  them  himself 
without  much  trouble  or  expense. 

Get  a  long  black-board,  then,  and  rule  it  as  I  have  directed. 
The  carpenters  have  a  tool  made  on  purpose  to  cut  the  lines 
into  the  board,  but  if  such  a  tool  cannot  be  obtained,  the  lines 
may  be  ruled  with  a  chalk-line,  and  scratched  in  with  a  saw, 
or  cut  in  with  a  penknife.  They  may  be  painted  white  on 
a  black  ground,  but  the  writing  never  looks  so  well  over  white 
lines. 

After  the  board  is  prepared,  let  every  child  have  a  slate,  and 
let  every  slate  be  ruled  exactly  like  the  board.  The  teacher 
can  do  the  ruling  with  a  dull  penknife  or  any  sharp  pointed 
iron.  The  marks,  after  a  day  or  two's  use,  will  not  mar  the 
writing,  and,  as  only  one  side  of  the  slate  is  ruled,  work  that 
does  not  require  ruling  may  be  done  on  the  other.  Three  or 
four  sets  of  lines  can  be  marked  on  the  slate,  and  the  pattern 
just  given  is  about  the  best  in  regard  to  size. 

The  distance  between  the  lines  1  and  2  and  S  and  9  corre- 
spond, but  the  space  between  2  and  3  is  less  than  that  between 
7  and  8.  2  marks  the  height  and  8  the  depth  to  which  letters 
not  looped  may  go,  and  1  and  9  mark  the  space  in  which  the 
loop  must  be  made.  The  five  lines  are  for  the  body  of  the 
letters. 

I  cannot  describe  in  ten  pages  what  I  could  show  on  the 
black-board  in  ten  minutes,  but  I  must  not  entirely  omit  the 
directions  for  shaping  and  joining  letters.  Let  the  small 
letters  be  made  first.  Suppose  a  class  of  beginners  to  be 
before  me,  with  their  slates  before  them,  and  their  pencils 
sharpened,  and  long,  or  else  thrust  into  a  tin  handle  or  a 
goosequill,  to  make  them  so.  Let  the  pencil  be  held  properly 
at  first,  and  much  trouble  will  be  saved  in  subsequent  lessons. 
It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  proper  manner  of  holding  a  pen, 
although  it  may  be  shown  in  a  moment.  The  pen  or  pencil 
must  never  sink  below  the  knuckle  of  the  fore-finger  into  the 
hollow  between  that  finger  and  the  thumb ;  it  had  better  not 
sink  quite  as  far  as  the  knuckle.  It  must  pass  under  the  end 
of  the  forefinger,  and  touch  the  side  of  the  middle  finger  just 
below  the  nai'i.  The  most  common  fault  of  bad  writers  is 
turning  the  top  or  convex  part  of  the  pen  towards  the  body, 
and  the  consequence  is  that  the  slit  does  not  open,  as  it 


76  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

should,  when  the  pen  moves  downward,  but  it  does  so  when 
it  makes  the  turn  at  the  bottom  of  letters,  where  the  most  deli- 
cate line  should  be  made.  If  the  pen  is  held  properly,  the 
sides  of  the  slit  will  open  equally  at  the  downward  move- 
ment, and  then,  if  the  pen  is  not  twisted,  but  carried  round 
the  turn  and  up,  the  slit  is  closed  by  the  upward  movement, 
and  the  finest  hair  line  is  produced. 

In  writing  with  a  pencil,  the  upward  lines  can  be  made  just 
as  fine  by  lightening  the  pressure  of  the  hand.  If  a  pupil 
makes  the  upward  lines  as  coarse  as  the  downward,  stop  him 
at  once,  and  give  him  a  separate  lesson  in  the  'art  of  bear- 
ing on. 

To  return  to  our  lesson.  Let  me  talk  as  if  the  class  were 
before  me,  pencil  in  hand. 

You  see,  children,  I  place  my  chalk  on  the  second*  line  and 
draw  a  straight,  but  leaning  or  inclined  line,  downward  to  the 
seventh.  Now  do  the  same  on  your  slates.  This  mark  is  no 
letter,  but  it  forms  a  part  of  several  letters.  Make  these 
straight  lines  till  you  get  the  command  of  your  fingers.  Hold 
your  hands  so  that  you  rest  upon  the  little  finger  and  the  next 
to  it,  and  only  move  the  thumb,  fore  and  middle  fingers,  in 
forming  letters.  Let  me  see  how  each  makes  a  straight  mark 
and  holds  his  hand.  Very  well.  Now,  let  the  straight  line 
only  go  down  to  the  sixth  line,  and  when  you  get  there,  light 
up  your  pencil,  and  begin  to  turn  as  you  see  me  do,  and 
when  you  have  touched  the  seventh  line,  go  up  as  lightly  as 
possible  to  the  fifth  line.  This  forms  the  letter  I. 

If,  now,  instead  of  making  another  /,  you  place  a  dot  where 
the  top  of  I  would  be,  then  skip  from  2  to  3,  and  finish  the 
lower  part  of  the  I  from  3  to  6,  and  curve  it  as  before,  you  will 
make  the  letter  i.  I  required  you  to  make  the  dot  first, 
because  many  persons  are  so  careless  as  not  to  place  the  dot 
where  the  top  of  the  letter  would  be  if  the»z  were  an  I.  You 
see  the  dot  must  lean  as  the  rest  of  the  i  does.  If  you  begin 
half  way  between  2  and  3,  and  go  down  and  turn  as  in  I  and 
i,  and  then,  half  way  between  the  lop  of  your  letter  and 
the  third  line,  lay  your  pencil  on  the  letter  and  draw  a 
short  line  towards  the  right,  you  will  have  a  I.  Some  care- 
less persons  make  a  full  cross  at  the  top  of  t,  but  this  is 
wrong. 

To  make  n,  you  see  I  begin  at  the  seventh  line,  and  go  up 
lightly  to  4,  then  I  curve,  but  do  not  bear  on  till  I  reach  3, 
when  I  bear  on,  and  continue  a  steady  pressure  till  I  reach  7. 


( 


WRITING.  77 

Then,  touching  the  mark  I  have  just  made  at  6,  I  go  up 
"lightly  to  4,  curve  at  3,  as  before,  and  come  down  to  6,  when 
I  light  up,  curve  at  7,  and  carry  up  a  fine  mark  to  5.  The 
fine  mark  is  carried  up,  so  that,  if  I  wish  to  join  on  another 
letter  the  fine  mark  may  be  ready  for  it.  An  m  is  made  like 
an  TZ,  the  first  part  being  repeated,  beginning  at  6.  See  now 
how  I  make  it,  and  do  the  same  on  your  slates.  To  make  h, 
take  the  first  mark  that  I  taught  you,  from  2  to  7,  then,  touch- 
ing it  at  6,  make  the  last  part  of  an  n.  To  make  a  p,  begin 
half  way  between  2  and  3,  draw  a  straight  sloping  line  to  8, 
and  then  touching  it  at  6,  make  the  latter  part  of  an  n.  To 
make  u,  begin  at  7,  go  up  lightly  to  4,  then,  beginning  at  3, 
bear  on,  touch  the  fine  mark  you  have  just  made  a  little  below 
4,  go  on  to  6,  curve  as  in  z,  and  go  up  finely  to  5.  Then 
begin  again  at  3,  bear  on,  touch  the  fine  mark  just  below  4, 
and  finish  as  if  it  were  an  i. 

To  make  v,  begin  at  7,  go  up  lightly,  and  turn  as  at  the 
beginning  of  n.  Go  down  to  6,  bearing  on,  then  curve,  and 
go  up  lightly  to  3,  not  flaring  too  much,  then  bear  on,  go  down 
by  the  side  of  the  fine  mark,  and  not  on  it,  as  far  as  5,  then 
curve,  and  go  up  lightly  to  4.  To  make  w,  you  need  only 
repeat  the  first  part  of  p.  To  make  b,  the  first  part  of  a  v 
should  be  lengthened  by  beginning  at  2  instead  of  3. 

To  makej,  begin  at  3,  and  bearing  on,  go  down  to  8,  then 
curve,  go  up  at  9,  cross  the  thick  mark  you  have  just  made 
half  way  from  8  to  7,  and  go  up  as  fine  as  possible  to  5.  Dot 
the  j  as  you  would  an  i  where  the  top  of  an  I  would  come,  on 
2.  y  has  the  first  part  of  v  added  to  j,  without  its  dot. 

To  make  o,  begin  at  4,  and  go  up  lightly  curving  to  3,  then 
begin  to  bear  on  harder  and  harder  till  5,  then  light  up,  begin 
to  curve  at  6,  turn  at  7,  and  go  up  lightly  to  4,  joining  as 
neatly  as  possible.  Many  begin  to  make  an  o  at  3,  but  this  is 
unsafe,  for  if  it  is  badly  joined  it  shows,  and  cannot  be  covered 
when  a,  d,  g  or  q  are  made  of  the  o.  When  o  is  well  made, 
make  a  of  it  by  placing  the  pencil  on  3,  and  drawing  it  to  6, 
bearing  on,  and  touching  the  o,  but  not  cutting  any  of  it  off  so 
as  to  spoil  the  oval,  curve  just  below  5  and  turn  up  finely  as 
in  i.  To  make  d,  make  o,  then  begin  at  2,  bear  on,  touch  the 
o,  but  cut  none  of  it  off,  curve  just  below  5,  and  end  as  in  a. 
To  make  q,  make  o,  then  begin  at  3,  go  down,  bearing  on, 
to  8.  To  make  g,  make  o,  go  down  as  in  q,  and  curve,  and 
go  up  as  in  y. 

To  make  c,  make  a  handsome  dot  on  4,  touch  the  right  side 
7* 


78  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

of  it,  go  up  lightly  as  in  o,  curve  as  in  0,  except  that,  instead 
of  joining  where  you  began,  you  must  let  the  fine  mark  incline 
to  the  right,  and  stop  at  5.  To  make  e,  begin  at  7,  go  up  curv- 
ing backward  to  3,  then  finish  as  in  c,  taking  care  to  cross  the 
fine  mark  between  5  and  6. 

To  make  k,  begin  at  2,  and  go  down  to  7  as  in  making  h. 
Begin  at  4,  go  finely  to  3,  curve  and  bear  on  between  3  and 
4,  but  come  down  lightly  to  5.  Touch  the  fine  mark  just 
above  5,  curve  to  5,  bear  on  from  5  to  6,  and  curve  up  as 
in  h. 

To  make  r,  make  the  first  part  of  n,  go  up  from  6  as  if 
going  to  finish  n,  but  at  3  bear  on,  and  go  down  beside  the 
fine  mark  just  below  5,  and  then  curve  up  lightly  to  4. 

To  make  s,  begin  at  7,  go  up  finely  and  without  curving  to 
3,  leave  the  fine  line  sharp  at  top,  and  touching  it  between  3 
and  4,  curve  round,  thickening  most  at  5,  curving  at  7,  and 
ending  in  a  neat  dot  on  the  fine  line  between  5  and  6. 

To  make  x,  begin  at  7,  go  up  curving,  as  if  making  an  o 
backwards.  Then  make  a  c,  taking  care  however  not  to  bear 
on  at  any  part  of  the  c,  and  not  to  touch  the  o  part  above  4  or 
below  6. 

To  make  z,  begin  at  7,  go  up  lightly  to  3,  make  a  neat  dot 
on  3,  curve  lightly  and  touch  3  again,  then  curve  as  you  see 
me  do,  thickening  most  at  5  and  reaching  to  7,  then  leaving 
the  angle  sharp,  curve  on  the  7th  line,  and  go  up  with  a  fine 
line  to  5. 

To  make/,  begin  at  7,  and  go  up  with  a  slight  curve  to  2, 
then  curve  to  1,  begin  to  thicken  in  coming  down  at  2,  and 
carry  a  steady  pressure  in  a  straight  line  to  8,  then  curve  to 
the  right,  and  go  up  without  too  wide  a  sweep  to  5 ;  touch 
the  stem,  but  do  not  cross  it,  as  is  sometimes  ungracefully  done. 

As  the  chief  object  of  writing  such  large  hand  first  is  to 
give  the  child  a  free  movement  of  the  hand,  which  is  more 
easily  obtained  with  a  pencil  than  with  a  pen,  I  have  always 
required  the  curves  at  the  top  and  bottom  of  letters  to  be  nar- 
rower than  is  common  in  what  is  called  old-fashioned  round- 
hand.  This  will  be  seen  in  the  specimen  of  letters  on  page 
74,  and  the  reason  is,  that  nothing  destroys  the  beauty  of  fine 
hand  so  much  as  too  large  a  curve  at  the  top  or  bottom  ;  and 
if  the  child  gets  accustomed  to  a  certain  proportion  in  writing 
large  hand  he  will  preserve  it,  right  or  wrong,  in  small 
hand. 

In  writing  large  hand,  no  letter  should  be  looped  but/,  g, 


WRITING.  79 

long  s  and  long  z  and  y.  In  small  hand,  I,  h,  k,  and  I,  are 
also  looped.  In  large  hand,  the  main  stem  of  the  h  should  he 
twice  the  height  of  the  other  part,  but  in  small  hand,  it  maybe 
four  times  as  high,  including  the  loop.  In  large  hand,/,  g, 
and  y  go  further  below  the  body  than  the  letter  /goes  above  it. 

Capitals  extend  from  7  to  1  upward.  In  old  times,  the  G, 
J,  and  Y  were  carried  from  1  to  9,  but  the  fashion  now  is  to 
set  G,  J,  and  Y  upon  the  7th  line,  and  to  carry  Z  down  to  the 
9th.  I  think  it  is  unsafe  to  make  I  for  J,  and  the  teacher 
should  avoid  this  alteration,  but  G  and  Y,  if  well  made,  look 
better  on  the  7th,  than  on  the  9th  line. 

Let  not  the  teacher  or  parent  expect  any  child  to  learn  to 
write  in  a  moment.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  professors  of  the 
art  of  writing  to  promise  a  good  hand  to  the  pupil  in  twelve 
lessons,  whether  he  is  apt  to  learn  or  not,  and,  I  believe, 
whether  he  tries  to  learn  or  not.  There  is  deception  in  this, 
not  unlike  that  which  is  practised  in  teaching  French,  it  being 
not  unusual  for  professors  to  promise  to  teach  a  foreign 
language  in  twenty  lessons  to  persons  who  have  not,  with 
every  advantage  of  circumstances,  been  able  to  learn  their 
own  language  in  twenty  years. 

While  I  was  a  teacher,  one  of  the  most  popular  professors 
of  writing  visited  Boston,  and  put  up  at  one  of  the  great  hotels, 
the  daughter  of  whose  landlord  was  one  of  my  pupils.  She 
wrote  a  neat  and  very  legible  hand,  but  the  professor,  who 
wished  to  pay  his  board  in  the  easiest  manner,  persuaded  the 
landlord  that  his  daughter  wrote  a  very  bad  hand,  and,  in 
twelve  lessons,  he  could  make  her  write  an  elegant  one.  The 
father  very  politely  asked  my  consent  to  the  experiment,  ai)d 
I,  of  course,  gave  it,  upon  condition  that  she  should  not,  in  the 
mean  time,  write  any  at  my  school.  The  professor  charged 
one  dollar  a  lesson,  and  at  the  end  of  the  course,  as  his  bill 
for  board  was  more  than  twelve  dollars,  he  persuaded  the  land- 
lord to  give  his  daughter  another  course,  which  would  cer- 
tainly make  her  a  quite  accomplished  writer.  She  took  the 
second  course,  and  one  day  afterwards  she  laid  a  specimen  of 
her  penmanship  upon  my  desk,  and  said,  in  a  somewhat 
triumphant  way,  "  There,  sir,  what  do  you  think  of  that  ?"  "  Is 
this  the  result  of  your  twenty-four  lessons  ?  "  said  I.  "  Yes, 
sir,"  said  she.  "  Here  is  what  I  wrote  when  I  went  to  Mr. 
B.,  and  here  is  what  I  wrote  when  I  had  completed  the 
course."  "  Well,"  said  I,  "  what  does  your  father  think  of 
it?"  "  O,  sir,  he  thinks  I  have  made  great  improvement, 


80  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

and  don't  you  think  so  too  ?  "  "  No,"  said  I,  "  if  I  did  not 
know  the  force  of  habit,  I  should  say  he  had  spoiled  your 
handwriting;  but,  as  you  will  soon  forget  all  he  has  taught 
you,  and  go  back  to  your  former  hand,  the  experiment  will 
do  you  no  harm."  At  my  request,  she  gave  me  the  two 
specimens  of  her  work,  and  I  laid  them  in  my  desk.  "  Now," 
said  I,  "  Ann,  tell  me  honestly  under  what  circumstances 
you  wrote  the  two  specimens, — were  they  fairly  written  ?" 
"  Why,  no,  sir,"  said  she,  "  I  cannot  say  they  were ;  for,  when  I 
first  went  to  Mr.  B.,  he  told  me  to  write  that  specimen  without 
a  copy,  and  although  the  pen  was  very  bad,  he  would  not  mend 
it  or  get  me  a  better  one ;  but  when  I  wrote  the  other  speci- 
men, after  I  had  taken  the  two  courses  of  lessons,  he  ruled  my 
paper,  and  mended  my  pen  fifty  times."  About  three  or  four 
months  afterwards,  seeing  the  specimens  in  my  desk,  I  called 
Miss  Ann  to  me,  and  laying  the  beautiful  specimen  before 
her,  I  asked  her  to  read  it  to  me.  It  consisted  of  four  or  five 
lines  only,  but,  after  trying  and  guessing  for  some  time,  she 
confessed,  what  was  quite  apparent,  that  she  could  not  read 
it.  "  Do  you  know  what  it  is?"  said  I.  "  O,  yes,  sir,"  said 
she.  "  Now,"  said  I,  "  see  if  you  can  read  the  other  speci- 
men." She  read  it  with  perfect  ease,  and  confessed  that,  on 
the  whole,  it  looked  the  best. 

The  fact  was,  the  professor  taught  a  style  of  writing  which 
paid  little  regard  to  the  peculiar  form  of  each  letter,  and  the 
letters  looked  as  if  they  were  all  m's  and  rfs.  I  have  told 
this  long  story  for  two  reasons.  First,  because  I  believe 
many  a  good  teacher  has  been  injured  by  comparisons  made 
by  injudicious  parents  and  committees,  between  what  such 
professors  promise,  and  what  regular  teachers,  under  many 
disadvantages,  perform.  If  the  professor  is  really  a  good  pen- 
man, and  does  nothing  but  teach  his  art,  and  if  the  pupil 
attends  to  the  lessons,  as  persons  usually  do  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, punctually,  carefully,  and  with  a  deep  feeling  of 
what  is  expected  of  them,  and  of  the  extraordinary  expense 
incurred,  much  improvement  may  be  made.  But  this  will  all 
be  lost,  unless  the  pupil  frequently,  and  for  a  long  time, 
practises  upon  the  lessons  received  ;  and,  as  not  one  in  a  hun- 
dred does  this,  almost  every  pupil  of  twelve-lesson-professors 
relapses  into  the  handwriting  to  which  he  was  accustomed 
before  he  was  reformed.  My  second  reason  is,  that  the  story 
teaches  the  importance  of  two  rules,  which  teachers  should 


WRITING.  81 

always  insist  upon,  first,  that  the  writing  shall  be  legible,  and 
then  that,  if  possible,  it  shall  be  elegant. 

I  would  gladly  give  directions  for  the  formation  of  the 
capital  letters,  and  also  some  rules  in  regard  to  printing,  but 
my  book  threatens  to  be  too  voluminous,  and  I  must  desist,  or 
omit  entirely  other  matters  of  at  least  equal  importance.  Let 
children,  then,  begin  to  write  early.  Let  them  write  large 
hand  before  small.  Let  them  write  on  the  slate  freely  before 
they  write  on  paper.  When  they  write  on  paper,  let  them 
use  a  lead-pencil  before  a  pen.  Let  them  write  much  freely, 
and  almost  carelessly,  to  acquire  a  free  movement  of  the 
hand,  but  let  the  teacher  require  every  regular  copy,  and  every 
exercise  in  orthography,  grammar,  &c.,  to  be  as  well  written 
as  if  it  were  a  set  exercise  in  writing.  If  the  teacher  is  a  good 
penman,  he  can  carry  this  instruction  into  every  exercise  of 
the  school ;  but,  if  he  is  not  a  penman,  he  cannot  teach  pen- 
manship, any  better  than  a  clown  can  teach  manners. 


82 


DRAWING. 

I  KNOW  not  how  I  can  better  explain  my  notions  on  this 
subject,  than  by  giving  the  preface  of  a  little  volume  that  I 
have  published  on  the  subject,  entitled : 

THE  EYE  AND  HAND; 

Being  a  Series  of  Practical  Lessons  in  Drawing,  for  the 
Training  of  those  Important  Organs  :  Adapted  to  the  Use 
of  Common  Schools. 

PREFACE. 

Experience  has  fully  demonstrated  that  Drawing  may  be 
introduced  into  Infant  and  Primary  Schools  with  great  ben- 
efit to  the  children,  and  with  beneficial  effect  upon  the  disci- 
pline of  the  schools.  Every  child,  however  young,  should 
have  a  slate,  and  it  will  require  no  great  skill  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher  to  chalk  some  familiar  object  on  the  black- 
board, and  request  those  children  not  otherwise  engaged,  to 
copy  it.  The  evil  of  our  primary  schools,  and  the  greatest 
evil,  because  productive  of  most  other  evils,  is,  want  of 
employment ;  and  yet  how  easily  a  teacher  could  keep  a 
hundred  children  constantly  and  pleasantly  engaged,  if  he 
knew  how  to  draw. 

The  apparatus  of  primary  school-rooms  does  not  admit 
of  any  great  variety  of  lessons ;  for,  often,  the  little  pupil 
has  no  desk,  and,  of  course,  no  opportunity  to  use  rules, 
pens,  and  paper.  No  matter,  —  much  may  be  done  without 
any  apparatus  but  the  slate  and  pencil;  much  that  will  be 
an  excellent  introduction  to  the  drawing  of  maps,  and  to  the 
study  of  Arithmetic  and  Geometry.  Besides  the  drawing 
of  common  objects,  which  exercise  the  taste,  a  regular 
course  of  drawing  may  be  given,  which  will  train  the  eye 
and  the  hand,  and  be  to  drawing  what  the  four  fundamental 
rules  are  to  Arithmetic,  the  basis  of  all  the  more  advanced 
movements. 

When  Napoleon  was  emperor  of  France,  he  established  a 
national  system  of  education,  and  one  of  the  earliest  studies 
was  Drawing ;  not  fancy  drawing,  which  is  hardly  subject 


DRAWING.  83 

to  .any  fixed  rules,  but  that  portion  of  the  art  which  is 
subject  to  them,  and  for  which  directions  may  be  given  as 
certain  as  any  -rule  of  mathematics,  —  on  which,  in  fact, 
drawing  as  a  science  depends.  The  emperor  ordered  the 
Bureau  of  Instruction  to  prepare  a  drawing  book  of  this 
sort  for  the  national  schools,  and  the  book  so  prepared  by 
M.  Francceur,  was  eminently  successful. 

The  following  book  is  a  free  translation  of  the  French 
Manual,  and  as  far  as  my  practice  and  my  judgment  are  to 
be  depended  on.  the  efTect  of  the  course  of  instruction  here 
proposed  is  to  produce  wonderful  freedom  and  accuracy  in 
the  use  of  the  eye  and  hand.  Those  who  have  seen  the 
elegant  writing,  printing,  arid  map-drawing,  performed  by  my 
pupils,  should  be  informed  that  those  exercises  were  done 
by  children  who  had  also  been  trained  to  draw  according  to 
the  system  here  proposed  and  explained,  a  system  more 
simple,  more  practicable  in  our  common  schools,  and  more 
economical,  than  any  other  that  I  have  seen. 

The  first  lessons  are  Lines,  horizontal,  vertical,  oblique, 
of  various  prescribed  lengths,  which  the  pupils  are  gradually 
taught,  without  the  use  of  any  rule  or  dividers,  to  draw  per- 
fectly straight,  and  to  cut  into  halves,  thirds,  quarters, 
inches,  tenths,  &c.,  thus  illustrating  the  earliest  exercises 
in  fractions.  Then  Angles  are  introduced  and  gradually 
explained,  and,  by  practice,  the  child  is  soon  enabled  to 
draw  an  angle  of  any  prescribed  number  of  degrees.  Next 
follow  Triangles,  Squares,  Pentagons  of  all  sorts,  parts  of 
which  are  prescribed,  and  the  rest  required  to  correspond. 
Pyramids,  Prisms,  &c.,  come  next.  Then  Circles,  Ellipses, 
Ovals,  are  introduced,  with  Cones,  Cylinders,  &c.  &c. 
Next,  these  exact  rules  are  applied  to  the  drawing  of  Urns, 
Vases,  the  Orders  of  Architecture,  &c.  &c.,  and  finally,  the 
elements  of  drawing  in  Perspective  are  given.  All  these 
lessons  are  expected  to  be  performed  without  the  use  of 
instruments,  but,  directions  for  making  the  same  figures 
with  instruments  are  given  in  an  appendix,  and  simple  prob- 
lems, in  the  simplest  rules  of  arithmetic,  are  given,  to  ena- 
ble the  pupil  to  calculate  the  contents  of  a  square,  a  polygon, 
a  prism,  cone  or  cylinder,  —  an  exercise  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance to  the  mechanic,  who  wishes  to  draft  his  own  plans, 
calculate  contracts,  and  be  independent  of  others. 

The  exercises  are  confined  to  lines,  and  do  not  attempt  to 
teach  shading.  Directions  are  given  at  every  step,  so  that 


84  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

a  teacher  who  knows  nothing  of  drawing,  may,  by  following 
the  rules,  learn  the  art  while  teaching  it  to  his  pupils,  and 
the  correction  of  their  work  will  soon  give  him  an  exactness 
and  facility  of  eye  and  hand,  that  will  surprise  him.  Such 
was  the  effect  of  my  practice  in  this  way,  that,  to  this  day,  I 
rarely  use  any  rule  or  dividers  for  drawing  lines,  or  describ- 
ing circles. 

In  teaching  drawing  to  the  young,  I  would  not  exclude 
fancy  drawing,  because  this  cultivates  the  taste  as  well  as 
the  eye  and  the  hand ;  but  there  is  no  such  system  in  it, 
nor  can  any  be  introduced.  I  should,  therefore,  introduce 
fancy  figures  occasionally,  as  I  would  introduce  spelling 
from  reading  lessons,  to  vary  the  exercise  and  give  life  to  it. 
The  main  reliance,  however,  must  be  upon  that  part  of 
drawing  which  is  subject  to  rules,  which  does  not  depend 
upon  arbitary  taste,  and  which  may  be  conducted  systemati- 
cally to  any  extent  of  skill  and  accuracy.  If  the  teacher 
requires  aid  in  the  delineation  oi  common  objects,  he  may 
find  elementary  drawing  books  in  great  abundance,  or  he 
may  place  real  objects  before  the  pupils ;  and,  if  they  prac- 
tise the  lessons  of  this  book  first,  they  will  afterwards  apply 
their  knowledge  and  skill  to  the  delineation  of  natural 
objects  without  the  awkwardness  and  fear  that  usually  mark 
the  efforts  of  beginners. 

I  am  satisfied  that  drawing  and  writing  are  nearly  allied, 
and  may  be  introduced  into  primary  schools  much  more 
early  than  is  generally  supposed ;  and,  as  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  utility  of  these  branches,  and  as  they  serve 
admirably  to  fill  up  the  otherwise  idle  hours  of  school 
time,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  if  teachers  do  not  voluntarily 
introduce  them,  the  Committees  will  require  them  to  be 
introduced,  not  to  push  aside  other  studies,  but  to  banish 
indolence  and  all  its  evil  consequences  from  our  schools. 

I  believe  that  drawing  may  be  taught  to  children  as  soon,  or 
even  sooner,  than  they  can  be  taught  to  write.  In  preparing 
a  book  to  train  the  eye  and  hand  of  pupils,  I  was  aware  of  the 
fact  that  most  teachers  of  drawing  are  entirely  unacquainted 
with  any  rules  of  the  art,  except  those  which  relate  to  the 
manner  of  holding  and  using  the  pencil,  that  is,  in  making 
marks  and  shading  figures.  Of  course,  the  children  will  get 
instruction  in  this  part  of  drawing  more  easily  than  in  that 
which  is  less  common.  A  course  of  lessons,  therefore,  that 


DBAWING.  BS 

had  a  bearing  upon  the  scientific  part  of  the  art,  was  a 
desirable  thing,  and  such  I  endeavored  to  furnish  to  the  young 
teacher.  The  book  is  accompanied  with  such  complete  direc- 
tions, that  I  need  not  repeat  them,  but  shall  content  myself 
with  giving  a  few  plain  directions  to  aid  teachers  in  drawing 
objects  of  taste,  which  may  not  be  embraced  by  the  rules  of 
the  book,  but  which,  as  I  have  said  in  the  preface,  should  be 
interspersed  among  the  more  severe  exercises  of  the  book, 
as  a  reward  or  relaxation. 

By  all  means  let  the  pupils  draw  outlines  first.  If  they 
have  any  choice  of  pencils,  let  them  use  a  soft  one  in  prefer- 
ence to  a  hard  one,  and  make  the  line  as  lightly  as  possible, 
that  it  may  be  easily  erased  if  not  well  made.  Whatever  the 
picture  to  be  drawn,  let  the  whole  outline  be  drawn  first. 
Then  examine  it  carefully,  and  fix  the  outline  by  a  plainer 
mark  with  a  harder  pencil.  If  the  object  to  be  shaded  be  an, 
animal,  —  a  horse,  for  instance, — begin  at  the  head  and  shade 
downwards.  If  a  landscape,  begin  at  the  top,  which  is 
generally  the  more  remote  part  of  the  picture,  and  then  there 
will  be  less  danger  of  erasing  the  work  by  rubbing  your  hand 
over  it.  Indeed,  the  neat  workman  will  always  keep  a  piece 
of  paper  between  his  hand  and  his  work,  to  prevent  any 
erasure,  and  any  soiling  of  the  paper.  For  a  general  rule, 
the  deepest  shades  belong  to  the  remotest  objects.  If  you 
draw  a  circle  and  wish  to  shade  it  so  that  it  shall  resemble  a 
ball,  the  darkest  shade  must  be  at  the  circumference,  and  the 
centre  of  what  was  the  circle  will  be  the  lightest,  and  will 
represent  that  part  of  the  ball  nearest  to  you. 

These  hints  will  enable  the  teacher,  not  only  to  keep  his 
pupils  employed,  but  to  make  diagrams  and  other  illustrations 
of  his  lessons.  He  may  even  go  further,  and  by  the  same 
rules  paint  illustrations  on  cotton  cloth  with  great  ease.  At 
one  of  the  Institutes  I  gave  the  teachers  a  lesson  in  the  art  of 
painting  on  cotton  ;  and  then,  to  ascertain  whether  I  had  been 
understood,  I  called  on  such  as  thought  they  could  not  paint  a 
copy  of  Avhat  I  had  painted,  to  hold  up  a  hand.  Several 
hands,  of  course,  were  raised ;  and,  to  their  surprise,  I  picked 
out  the  most  faint-hearted  of  them,  and  requested  her  to  come 
forward  and  draw  and  paint  an  object  similar  to  that  I  had 
painted  on  the  cloth.  She  said  "  She  could  not  do  it  to  save 
her  life."  To  please  me,  however,  she  made  an  attempt  to 
draw  and  shade  the  figure,  which  was  the  large  bone  of  the 
arm,  and  she  did  it  well,  and  with  great  ease  and  dispatch. 
8 


86  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

All  that  is  necessary  is  to  take  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth,  and 
tack  it  as  tight  as  possible  upon  a  board,  (I  used  a  common 
folding-board.)  Then,  with  a  crayon  or  lead  pencil,  draw  an 
outline  of  the  object  to  be  painted.  The  paint  to  be  used  is 
common  black  paint,  such  as  is  used  to  paint  common  wood- 
work. It  is  made  by  mixing  lampblack  and  linseed  or 
painter's  oil.  A  little  spirit  of  turpentine  may  be  added,  if 
you  wish  it  to  dry  speedily.  Do  not  make  the  paint  too  thin. 
My  rule  is  to  mix  it  on  a  pane  of  glass,  and  of  such  consis- 
tency that  it  will  just  not  run  off.  A  common  stiff  hair-pencil 
will  do  to  paint  over  the  outline,  but  a  stiffer  brush,  made  of 
bristles,  and  no  larger  than  a  common  hair-pencil,  is  prefer- 
able, because  it  overcomes  more  readily  the  fuzz  which  is 
found  on  the  surface  of  most  cotton  cloth.  For  the  same 
reason,  in  printing  letters  on  this  cloth,  I  generally  use  a  stick 
made  of  a  piece  of  shingle  a  tenth  of  an  inch  wide,  and 
about  as  thick  as  the  shingle  is,  in  the  middle.  With  the  flat 
side  I  mark  the  thick  part,  and  with  the  edge  the  thin  part  of 
the  letters. 

After  the  outline  is  painted  with  the  small  brush,  the  best 
way  to  shade  the  figure  is  the  following.  Take  an  old  paint- 
brush that  has  been  worn  down  until  the  bristles  come  to  an 
edge  like  a  wedge,  which  wedge  must  .not  exceed  an  inch  in 
length.  Place  the  edge  lengthwise  on  the  outline,  bear  on, 
and,  as  you  draw  the  brush  forward,  light  up  the  hand.  Of 
course,  the  darkest  shade  will  then  be  at  the  outline,  and  the 
lightest  near  the  centre  towards  which  the  brush  is  drawn. 
If  there  is  no  wish  to  give  the  figure  a  rounded  appearance, 
rub  the  brush  on  a  piece  of  cloth  or  board  till  it  makes  a  mark 
of  the  desired  shade,  and  then  rub  the  brush  over  the  figure. 
Diagrams  painted  in  this  way  will  last  very  long,  and,  if 
soiled,  may  be  washed  and  look  all  the  better  for  it.  A  little 
practice  will  enable  the  teacher  to  overcome  any  obstacle  that 
will  arise,  and  in  this  way,  he  may  ornament  his  school-room, 
and  prepare  illustrations  which  will  be  as  much  more  intelli- 
gible than  mere  words,  as  one  example  of  painting  would  be 
more  effectual  than  this  imperfect  description  of  the  process. 


87 

GEOGRAPHY. 

A  Lecture  on  "  The  Best  Method  of  Teaching  Geography," 
delivered  before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction,  at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  August,  1845;  by  WILLIAM  B.  FOWLE. 
Re-published  from  the  fifteenth  volume  of  the  Institute 
Lectures. 

IN  rising  to  address  you  at  this  time,  I  feel  the  embarrass- 
ment which  always  attends  any  attempt  to  address  a  mixed 
audience  upon  the  details  of  instruction  in  any  branch  of  sci- 
ence ;  for,  if  the  subject  is  only  treated  in  general  terms,  there 
are  always  some  to  accuse  it  of  having  no  practical  bearing ; 
and,  if  it  is  treated  in  detail,  a  larger  number,  perhaps,  will 
find  it  dull  and  uninteresting.  I  would  gladly  have  avoided 
the  task  altogether,  but  your  committee  were  so  polite  as  to 
invite  me  to  lecture,  because  I  had  some  score  years  of  experi- 
ence as  a  teacher  of  the  branch  which  they  proposed  for  my 
subject,  and  I  had  done  so  little  for  the  Institute,  that  I  did  not 
feel  at  liberty  to  decline,  however  serious  were  my  misgivings 
as  to  the  result. 

The  subject  proposed  by  your  committee  was,  "  The  Best 
Method  of  Teaching  Geography,"  by  which  they  probably 
meant  my  method,  taking  it  for  granted  that  no  honest  teacher 
will  for  a  moment  use  any  method  but  that  which  he  considers 
the  best.  But  a  serious  difficulty  met  me  at  the  outset ;  for, 
what  did  the  committee  understand  by  the  term  Geography  ? 
I  knew  that  this  term,  etymologically  considered,  meant  a 
description  of  the  earth  in  all  its  appearances,  permanent  and 
changeable ;  but  the  committee  must  have  used  the  word  in  a 
more  restricted  sense,  and  how  was  I  to  get  at  it  ?  I  applied 
first  to  that  leviathan  of  lexicographers,  Dr.  Johnson,  and 
he  said  "  Geography  is  the  knowledge  of  the  earth."  The, 
we  are  told  by  an  admired  grammarian,  is  the  definite  article, 
although,  as  in  this  case,  all  that  is  indefinite  in  the  defini- 
tion seems  to  proceed  from  the  use  of  the.  But,  allowing  that 
the  Doctor  meant,  "Knowledge  of  the  earth,"  the  question 
naturally  arose,  What  knowledge  of  it  ?  Its  origin  ?  its  struc- 


88  -THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

ture?  its  superficial  features?  its  artificial  divisions?  its 
changes  ?  or,  what  part  of  the.  various  knowledge  that  has 
been  Collected  from  age  to  age  ?  To  ascertain  the  kind  or 
degree  of  this  knowledge,  I  thought  the  definition  of  particular 
departments  of  it  would  aid  me,  and  turning  to  the  word 
Geology,  I  found  that  to  mean,  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Earth." 
I  then,  of  course,  turned  to  the  word  doctrine,  and  found  that 
to  mean,  "  The  principles  or  positions  of  any  sect  or  master." 
Not  perceiving  that  I  had  made  any  approximation  to  the 
desired  point,  but  more  than  ever  convinced  of  the  absurdity 
of  requiring  children  to  study  lessons  from  the  Dictionary,  I 
turned  to  the  word  Topography,  and  found  this  to  be,  "  A 
description  of  particular  places,"  by  which,  I  suppose,  the 
Doctor  meant,  "  A  particular  description  of  places;"  for,  if  a 
description  of  particular  places  is  topography,  then  a  descrip- 
tion of  all  places  is  not  topography. 

I  resorted,  then,  to  the  definitions  given  by  our  best  geogra- 
phers, but,  instead  of  repeating  these,  which,  by  the  way,  are 
often  greatly  at  variance  with  the  contents  of  their  textbooks, 
I  prefer  to  give  a  paragraph  from  the  Library  of  Useful 
Knowledge,  which  not  only  describes  what  I  consider  to  be 
the  great  mistake  of  all  geographical  textbooks,  but  which 
proposes  nearly  the  plan  that  I  have  pursued  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  recommend  in  this  lecture. 
"  Universal  Geography,"  says  the  author,  whoever  he  may  be, 
"  is  the  science  that  conveys  to  us  a  knowledge  of  the  earth, 
both  as  a  distinct  and  independent  body  in  the  universe,  and 
as  connected  with  a  system  of  heavenly  bodies.  The  figure, 
structure  and  dimensions  of  the  earth ;  the  properties  and 
mutual  relations  of  its  parts ;  the  features  of  its  surface ;  its 
productions  and  inhabitants,  and  the  laws  which  govern  or 
partially  affect  it  as  a  heavenly  body,  are  all  included  in  the 
comprehensive  term  of  Universal  Geography.  This  defini- 
tion," he  goes  on  to  say,  "  or  rather,  this  description  of  the 
objects  of  geography,  serves  as  the  basis  of  M.  Make  Brun's 
elaborate  work,  but  it  manifestly  embraces  a  great  variety  of 
subjects  commonly  called,  and  treated  under  distinct  heads  of, 
natural  philosophy.  To  avoid,  therefore,  the  confusion  of 
ideas  to  which  the  extensiveness  of  this  definition  may  give 
rise,  it  will  be  convenient  to  reduce  its  terms  within  the  limits 
usually  assigned  to  geography.  And  we  are  the  rather  induced 
to  do  this,  because  the  interests  of  science  have  been  promoted, 
in  no  slight  degree,  by  a  judicious  and  well  defined  arrange- 


GEOGRAPHY.  89 

ment  of  its  parts,  which  at  once  excludes  a  great  number  of 
fanciful  resemblances,  and,  like  a  division  of  labor  in  mechanic- 
al employments,  renders  every  branch  more  easy  to  be  acquired, 
and  more  likely  to  be  extended  and  improved."  "  In  its  proper 
and  more  confined  sense,"  he  concludes,  "  geography  com- 
prises a  knowledge  of  the  figure  and  dimensions  of  the  earth, 
and  the  situation  of  places  upon  it ;  of  the  natural  and  political 
features  and  divisions  of  its  surface ;  and  of  its  various  pro- 
ductions and  inhabitants"  This  latter  definition,  with  the 
exception  of  the  last  clause,  may  be  assumed  by  the  lecturer, 
but  "the  description  of  the  various  productions  of  the  earth" 
approaches  so  nearly  to  Botany  and  Geology,  and  "  the 
description  of  its  inhabitants  "  approaches  so  nearly  to  Natural 
and,  perhaps,  Civil  History,  that  they  had  better  be  referred  to 
the  books  devoted  to  those  important  but  distinct  sciences. 

If  we  examine  the  books  that  are  most  used  in  the  schools 
of  the  United  States  for  teaching  geography,  we  soon  come  to 
the  conclusion,  that,  if  all  they  contain  is  geography,  then, 
this  is  the  most  comprehensive  name  ever  given  to  a  science, 
and  we  shall  be  led,  perhaps,  to  suspect  that  Dr.  Johnson  was 
fully  aware  of  what  he  said,  when  he  defined  geography  to  be 
"  THE  knowledge  of  the  earth,"  par  excellence.  I  know  not 
that  I  shall  do  injustice  to  many  of  these  textbooks,  if  I  say 
that  every  thing  is  found  in  them  but  what  ought  to  be  there ; 
for,  really,  when  the  proper  materials  are  there,  they  are  so 
buried  under  other  matters,  that  they  are  with  difficulty  found. 
In  most  of  them,  besides  topography,  and  a  smattering  of  geol- 
ogy and  astronomy,  we  find  history,  botany,  zoology,  meteor- 
ology, and  all  the  other  ologies  appertaining  to  natural  history, 
with  theology,  chronology,  genealogy, manners  and  customs,  the 
statistics  of  war,  education,  sectarianism,  internal  improvement, 
law,  physic,  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures,  philanthropy, 
and  most  other  human  concerns.  Now,  all  these  subjects  are 
very  important,  and  every  well  educated  person  should  know 
more,  much  more  of  them,  than  is  contained  in  these  geo- 
graphical textbooks ;  but  it  is  questionable  whether  an  adult 
mind  would  be  much  improved  by  reading  or  learning  by  rote 
such  knowledge,  however  important,  given  as  it  is,  without 
system,  without  due  proportion,  without  judgment.  But,  if 
such  desultory  remarks  are  of  doubtful  utility  to  adults,  what 
must  they  be  to  children,  who  generally  come  to  the  study  of 
geography  long  before  they  have  studied  any  of  the  subjects 
just  enumerated  ?  It  was  the  custom,  when  the  spelling-book 
S* 


90  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

was  almost  the  only  secular  book  used  in  our  schools,  to 
crowd  a  smattering  of  almost  every  thing  else  into  it,  and  I 
have  one  that  contains,  besides  its  vocabulary  of  words,  the 
elements  of  reading,  grammar,  arithmetic,  geography,  astron- 
omy, rhetoric,  theology,  penmatrehip,  and  a  variety  of  other 
matters,  more  necessary  then,  when  the  Bible  and  spelling 
book  were  the  school-boy's  library,  than  such  a  medley  is  in 
our  geographies  now,  when  every  division  of  human  science 
has  an  appropriate  textbook,  in  which  it  is  systematically 
treated.  The  good  sense  of  the  community  has  long  ago 
banished  such  extraneous  subjects  from  the  spelling  book,  but 
will  it  sift  the  geographies  also  ?  Many  of  those  subjects  are 
as  much  related  to  spelling  as  the  others  are  to  geography ; 
for,  spelling,  unless  accompanied  with  writing,  reading  and 
grammar,  is  but  half  taught,  and  this  fact  the  people  are  begin- 
ning to  perceive. 

What  I  have  called  the  extraneous  matter  of  geographical 
textbooks  often  constitutes  about  three  quarters  of  them,  and, 
no  doubt,  it  is  introduced  to  fix  the  geographical  facts  in  the 
memory  by  association  or  some  other  sympathetic  influence. 
But,  if  this  is  a  sufficient  excuse  for  introducing  such  frag- 
ments of  various  knowledge,  how  important  is  it  that  the  most 
striking  and  apposite  illustrations  should  be  selected.  Yet,  I 
find  no  such  judgment  exercised;  so  that  the  aid  afforded  by 
the  associated  knowledge  only  increases  the  burden.  For 
instance,  one  popular  author,  who  relies  much  upon  the  aid 
of  pictures,  when  treating  of  the  geography  of  America,  gives 
us  a  view  of  Columbus  leaving  Palos,  in  Spain ;  but  how  will 
this  help  the  child  to  remember  the  shape,  features,  natural  or 
artificial  divisions  of  America  ?  It  introduces  an  historical  fact, 
and  may  recall  Spain  to  mind,  though  the  site  of  Palos,  the 
subject  of  the  picture,  is  no  where  described.  In  his  larger 
geography,  the  same  author  gives  a  picture  emblematical  of 
the  United  States,  viz.:  an  Indian  astride  a  flying  eagle. 
Then  we  have  a  picture  of  the  Resignation  of  General  Wash- 
ington, but,  as  we  are  not  told  where  it  took  place,  it  is  not 
evident  what  geographical  fact  it  is  to  impress  upon  the 
memory.  This  incongruity  is  not  confined  to  him,  however, 
for  another  amiable  and  excellent  author,  whose  book  is  a 
mass  of  facts,  that  render  it,  in  my  opinion,  unfit  to  be  used 
by  children,  while  they  show  his  unusually  extensive  acquain- 
tance with  the  earth  and  all  that  appertains  to  it,  gives  a 
Roman  Catholic  procession  in  Guatimala;  some  peasants 


GEOGRAPHY.  91 

dancing  in  France ;  and  many  similar  pictures,  not  peculiar 
to  the  country  where  they  are  given,  and  not  likely  to  operate 
as  aids  to  the  recollection  of  any  geographical  fact  any  where. 
But  this  will  suffice,  and  I  need  not  produce  examples  from 
inferior  authors.  I  am  not  unacquainted  with  the  power  of 
association  in  assisting  the  memory,  but  I  have  been  accustomed 
to  associate  unknown  things  with  those  that  are  familiar,  and  I 
cannot  be  deceived  into  the  belief,  that,  where  there  are  no 
common  points  of  resemblance,  any  thing  is  gained  to  the 
memory  by  having  two  facts  to  remember  instead  of  one. 

So  with  the  description  of  places,  customs,  &c.  &c.,  which 
are  to  be  committed  to  memory ;  they  are  rarely  connected 
with  the  thing  to  be  remembered  with  them.  For  a  general 
rule,  those  who  have  studied  the  textbooks  in  common  use, 
are  ignorant  of  the  location  of  places  and  the  physical  features 
of  the  earth,  exactly  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  words 
they  may  have  committed  to  memory.  My  heart  has  sunk 
within  me  when  I  have  examined  children,  whose  memories 
had  been  thus  taxed  at  the  expense  of  health,  and  of  years  of 
precious  time  far  worse  than  wasted.  Who  does  not  know 
how  eager  such  children  are  to  recite  as  soon  as  they  have 
committed  a  lesson  to  memory  ?  One  would  think  the  recita- 
tion was  to  fix  it  forever  in  the  mind,  whereas  it  is  really 
only  a  device  to  let  it  escape  and  make  room  for  its  successor ; 
it  being  a  law  with  these  unsubstantial  things,  as  with  solid 
bodies,  that  no  two  can  occupy  the  same  place  at  the  same 
time. 

While  I  was  at  school,  geography  was  first  introduced  as  a 
regular  exercise,  and,  on  the  whole,  the  method  of  instruction 
was  more  rational  than  that  which  has  since  prevailed, 
although  its  result  was  very  similar.  The  chief  book  used 
was  an  abridgement  of  Dr.  Morse's  Universal  Geography,  but 
it  was  read  only,  and  not  committed  to  memory.  It  was 
never  explained  to  the  pupils,  and  being  quite  unintelligible, 
was,  of  course,  very  uninteresting.  The  only  portion  that 
was  tolerable,  was  a  description  of  the  animals  of  this  country ; 
and  this  was  to  the  desert  a  sort  of  oasis,  which  we  visited, 
in  the  course  of  our  reading,  only  about  once  a  year.  The 
book  contained  one  or  two  maps,  but  we  were  never  required 
to  examine  them,  and,  in  most  cases,  they  were  soon  torn  out, 
and  thrown  away  as  the  most  useless  things  in  the  world. 
To  beguile  the  tedious  hours  of  idleness,  which  then,  as  now, 
constituted  the  larger  part  of  school  time,  such  of  us  as  retained 


92  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

the  maps  were  accustomed  to  play  "  hunt  for  places"  on 
them.  This  was  a  standing  game  for  years,  and  to  this  I  am 
indebted  for  all  the  knowledge  of  geography  that  I  brought 
away  from  school,  although,  whenever  I  was  detected  in  this 
forbidden  exercise,  I  was  severely  punished.  I  do  not  recol- 
lect any  more  of  that  book  than  I  should  if  I  had  committed 
it  all  to  memory,  but  I  recollect  how  I  hated  Dr.  Morse  for 
making  it.  Another  book,  used  at  the  same  time,  was  Bing- 
ham's  Astronomical  and  Geographical  Catechism,  a  small 
book  which  I  committed  to  memory  in  a  few  months,  and 
recited  regularly  eight  or  ten  times  a  year,  without  under- 
standing a  word  of  it,  for  it  was  never  explained  to  me.  In 
connection  with  oral  teaching,  I  prefer  books  that  ask  ques- 
tions, and  require  the  pupil  to  search  the  atlas  for  an  answer, 
without  furnishing  one  ready  to  his  hand,  or  a  key  to  one  in 
the  shape  of  the  first  letter.  But  the  little  Catechism  gave  an 
answer  to  every  question,  and  a  departure  from  the  very 
words  of  the  book,  although  the  idea  was  retained,  was 
deemed  an  error,  as  well  as  the  height  of  presumption.  There 
was  no  association  in  my  mind  between  any  description  in 
these  two  books  and  any  spot  on  the  maps,  but  many  of  those 
descriptions  were  indelibly  associated  with  certain  black-and- 
blue  spots  elsewhere. 

I  have  remarked  that  the  extraneous  matter  of  our  geo- 
graphical textbooks  is  of  but  little  value  when  learned ;  let 
me  enlarge  a  little  upon  this  idea.  Who  does  not  know  that 
when  a  new  edition  of  a  geography,  a  revised  edition,  I  mean, 
is  printed,  the  old  edition  is  no  longer  fit  for  use  ?  Why  is 
this  ?  The  author  of  the  larger  geography  used,  until  lately, 
in  the  Boston  schools,  tells  us,  in  the  preface  of  one  of  his 
editions,  that  it  was  first  published  in  1819,  and,  after  two 
editions,  was  stereotyped,  or  placed  beyond  alteration.  Soon, 
he  adds,  it  was  necessary  to  re-write  it  entirely,  and  then, 
after  two  more  editions,  it  was  stereotyped,  or  fixed  again. 
Unfortunately  the  world  would  not  stay  fixed  to  accommodate 
the  types,  and,  in  a  subsequent  page,  we  are  told  that  the 
book  "  may  be  expected  to  remain  as  it  is,  until  a  considerable 
change  shall  become  desirable,"  that  is,  until  an  unusually 
large  portion  of  it  becomes  incorrect !  The  author  of  a  later 
and  more  popular  geography,  but  by  no  means  a  better  one, 
informs  us  in  his  preface,  that  "  The  introduction  of  a  great 
variety  of  books  into  schools  in  the  same  department  of 
knowledge,  by  rendering  the  information  uncertain,  the 


GEOGRAPHY.  93 

expense  greater,  and  the  progress  less  rapid,  is  an  evil  of 
which  many  have  complained."  But  how  is  this  evil  to  be 
remedied  ?  How  is  the  greater  expense  of  using  various 
books,  that  may  correct  each  other,  instead  of  "  rendering  the 
information  uncertain,"  to  be  remedied  ?  Let  us  see.  "  To 
obviate  this,"  continues  the  preface,  "  the  author  has  resolved 
to  give  his  work  a  periodical  revision,  which  will  be  repeated 
and  continued  regularly  once  in  five  years  thereafter;"  which 
seems  to  mean  that,  instead  of  buying  several  books  of  differ- 
ent authors,  the  pupils  will  only  have  to  purchase  several 
editions  of  the  same  book.  But  the  expense  is  of  no  impor- 
tance compared  with  the  fact,  that,  after  a  child  has  studied  a 
book  five  years,  the  new  edition  will  show  him  that,  if  what 
he  has  learned  is  retained,  it  is  incorrect,  and,  of  course,  use- 
less to  him. 

Now,  whence  arises  this  absurd,  nay,  cruel  necessity  for 
change  ?  Not  because  the  world  has  changed  ;  it  is  essen- 
tially the  same  it  was  when  Noah  went  forth  from  the  ark 
four  thousand  years  ago; — not  even,  because  the  divisions 
made  by  man  have  essentially  changed,  for,  every  where, 
except  perhaps  in  our  own  country,  these  divisions  are  what 
they  were  one  generation  at  least  ago.  Is  it  nqt  evident  that 
the  new  book  must  be  made  to  rectify  matters  that  should 
never  have  found  a  place  in  the  old  one  ?  What  is  the  object 
of  teaching  geography  in  our  schools  ?  Is  it  not  the  same  as 
that  of  teaching  arithmetic,  reading,  spelling,  and  the  other 
common  branches — to  give  the  child  something  that  will  be 
of  service  to  him  when  he  becomes  a  man  ?  And  is  there  not 
enough  that  is  permanent  on  the  earth,  to  occupy  the  few 
months,  or  even  years,  that  "are  devoted  to  the  study  of 
geography  ?  Have  the  oceans  ceased  to  heave  since  the 
Almighty  gathered  them  to  their  place  ?  Have  the  countless 
rivers  ceased  to  run  since  they  were  poured  out  from  the  hol- 
low of  the  Almighty  hand  ?  The  everlasting  hills,  have  they 
moved  again  since  they  fled  from  the  wrath  of  Him  who 
uplifted  them  ?  No,  no,  no,  nor  will  they,  till  the  dooming 
angel  shall  plant  his  right  foot  upon  the  flood,  and  his  left 
foot  upon  the  earth,  and  swear  by  Him  that  liveth  forever  and 
ever,  that  time  shall  be  no  longer. 

But  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  I  would  reject  all  such  aids 
as  would  interest  the  child  in  the  permanent,  and,  as  I  think, 
proper  subjects  of  geographical  instruction.  The  competent 
teacher  may  often  suggest  some  circumstance  to  engage  the 


94  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

pupil,  and  give  him  an  interest  in  the  thing  to  be  remembered. 
If  you  wished  to  express  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  country 
as  Italy,  and  its  peculiar  form,  upon  the  mind  of  a  child,  you 
might  tell  him  about  Rome  as  it  was  and  as  it  is ;  when  its 
material  wall  included  but  one  hill,  and  was  so  low  that  it 
was  overleaped  in  derision,  or  when  its  spiritual  wall  inclosed 
all  Christendom,  and  aspired  to  include  heaven  ;  when  it 
subdued  the  world  by  knowledge,  or  enslaved  it  by  ignorance  ; 
when  the  dark  oracles  of  the  Sibyl,  or  the  bright  oracles  of 
God,  were  shut  up  from  the  people  ;  you  might  tell  the  child 
all  this,  but  what  would  he  know  of  the  geography  of  Italy  ? 
Not  one  tenth  as  much  as  he  would  if  you  showed  him  the 
map,  called  his  attention  to  its  boot-like  form,  and  required 
him  to  draw  a  dozen  or  more  outlines  of  it.  The  textbook 
used  in  the  Boston  schools  was  as  copious  as  any,  and  the 
instruction  conformable  to  it,  probably,  as  thorough  ;  and  yet, 
in  the  remarkable  Report  of  the  Examining  Committee  of 
those  schools  in  1845,  we  are  told,  "  That  each  scholar  (of  five 
hundred  selected  from  the  first  division  of  the  highest  class  of 
each  school)  was  required  to  sketch  on  paper  an  outline  of 
Italy,  and  many  attempted  it,  but,  of  the  whole  number,  only 
seventeen  made  a  drawing,  which  could  have  been  recognized 
as  a  representation  of  Italy,  by  one  who  did  not  know  what 
the  scholar  was  trying  to  do." 

Again,  if  you  wished  to  impress  the  geographical  outline 
of  the  Spanish  Peninsula  upon  the  pupil's  mind,  would  you 
tell  him  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  ;  of  the  repulse  of  the 
Saracen  invaders,  and  the  invasion  of  Mexico  ;  of  the  enfran- 
chisement of  Spain  and  the  establishment  of  the  Inquisition  ; 
of  the  slaughter  of  infidel  Moors,  and  the  more  modern 
butchery  of  Christian  hosts  ?  You  might  do  all  this  without 
giving  the  pupil  any  idea  of  the  geography  of  Spain.  But, 
if  you  should  show  the  pupil  a  Spanish  dollar,  and  call  his 
attention  to  the  Shield,  whose  form  is  exactly  that  of  the  Pen- 
insula ;  to  the  Castle  and  the  Lion,  Castile  and  Leon,  whose 
union  freed  Spain  from  the  Saracens  ;  to  the  two  pillars, 
emblems  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  Gibraltar  and  Ceuta  ;  to 
the  motto  that  entwines  them,  "Ne  plus  ultra"  "  there  is 
nothing  beyond,"  and  then  explain  to  him  this  limit  of  ancient 
geography,  which  Spain  herself  was  the  first  to  pass ,  my  word 
for  it,  you  would  not  only  give  him  some  definite  ideas  of  the 
geography  of  Spain,  but  you  would  give  an  interest,  that 
never  existed  before,  to  Spanish  dollars. 


GEOGRAPHY.  9O 

By  such  means,  the  well-furnished  teacher  may  enliven  the 
details  of  study ;  but  I  have  always  found  that,  where  the 
book  is  what  it  ought  to  be,  and  the  black-board  and  pencil 
are  constantly  used,  there  is  but  little  need  of  other  excite- 
ment, and  the  name  of  a  country  becomes  associated  with 
every  geographical  peculiarity  of  it.  I  will  not  go  into  all 
the  details  of  the  method  by  which  I  contrived  to  impress  all 
the  important  features  of  the  globe  upon  the  minds  of  my 
pupils,  for  this  would  be  uninteresting,  perhaps,  even  to 
teachers,  and  he  who  wishes  to  read  them  may  find  them  in 
the  books  which  my  peculiar  method  of  teaching  compelled 
me  to  publish.  I  shall,  therefore,  only  say  briefly,  that,  when 
called  on  to  teach  a  child  geography,  my  custom  is,  first  to 
show  the  child  a  map  or  plan  of  his  own  town  ;  then  to  point 
out  its  connection  with  other  towns  ;  how  these  towns  form 
counties,  and  how  the  counties  form  the  state.  Then  I  should 
take  the  map  of  the  United  States,  and  point  out  Massachusetts 
and  the  neighboring  states,  showing  how  they  combine  to 
form  the  Union.  Next,  I  should  take  the  map  of  North 
America,  and  pointing  out  the  United  States  and  its  territory, 
I  should  constantly  keep  the  eye  of  the  pupil  upon  the 
decreasing  size  of  Massachusetts.  I  speak  of  maps,  because 
these  are  in  every  school,  but  the  globe  is  far  better,  when- 
ever it  can  be  obtained.  Then  on  the  globe,  or  a  map  of  the 
world,  I  show  the  connection  between  North  and  South 
America,  the  wide  space  of  water  between  the  continents,  the 
New  World  on  one  side,  and  the  Old  World  on  the  other.  I 
show  him  the  whole  globe,  how  we  live  on  it,  and  how  it 
turns  round  ;  then  I  recall  his  attention  to  his  native  state, 
and  when  he  has  a  distinct  idea  of  its  place  on  the  globe,  I 
return  to  his  own  town,  or  to  his  own  state,  if  I  have  no 
suitable  map  of  the  town  to  enable  me  to  make  that  the  point 
from  which  our  future  lessons  are  to  proceed.  I  then  require 
the  pupil  to  draw  as  good  an  outline  of  his  town,  county  or 
state,  whichsoever  I  must  begin  with,  on  the  slate,  black-board 
or  paper,  or  on  all  of  them.  When  he  can  do  this  decently, 
I  let  him  fit  the  contiguous  states  upon  it.  If  his  book  has 
little  or  nothing  in  it  relating  to  his  own  state,  he  may  draw 
the  outline  of  every  state  in  the  Union,  separately,  several 
times,  without  entering  into  minute  details  ;  but  if  he  has  a 
map  of  his  own  state,  and  his  book  can  serve  him  as  a  guide, 
let  him  draw  a  map  of  good  size,  and  mark  first  the  moun- 
tains on  it,  and  be  told  that  these  are  the  most  important 


96  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

feature  in  a  country,  and  generally  indicate  the  high  lands 
from  which  the  rivers  rise.  Then  let  him  mark  the  rivers, 
and  be  sure  to.  make  him  understand  that  they  run  from  the 
highlands  to  the  sea,  downhill  always.  Then  proceed  to  the 
other  geographical  divisions  of  land  and  water,  dotting  the 
important  towns,  and  talking  about  the  face  of  the  country,  as 
if  it  were  outstretched  before  you. 

If  something  like  this  familiar  survey  had  been  attempted 
in  the  schools  to  which  I  just  now  referred,  do  you  think  that, 
when  their  five  hundred  elect  scholars  were  asked,  "  Do  the 
waters  of  Lake  Erie  run  into  Lake  Ontario  or  those  of 
Ontario  into  Erie?"  only  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
could  have  answered  correctly,  and  "  if  we  take  into  con- 
sideration," as  the  committee  say  in  their  report,  "  what  is 
unquestionably  true,  that  many  of  those  who  did  not  know, 
answered  by  guess,  and  they  were  just  as  likely  to  guess 
right  as  wrong,"  would  it  have  been  a  fact,  as  the  committee 
assert  it  was,  that  "  much  the  largest  portion  of  our  best 
scholars  could  not  tell  which  way  the  waters  run,  in  spite  of 
all  the  fame  of  Niagara?"  Surely  not ;  and,  after  this  ex- 
posure, whatever  textbook  may  be  used  in  those  schools, 
you  may  depend  upon  it  that  the  pupils  will  never  row  their 
teachers  up  these  Falls  again.* 

Before  leaving  the  native  state  of  the  pupil,  be  sure  that  a 
general  idea  of  all  its  important  points  is  obtained,  so  that  the 
child  can  readily  tell  its  parts,  as  you  draw  them  on  the  board, 
or  point  them  out  on  the  outline  map.  Then  let  him  take  a 
neighboring  state,  and  do  the  same  by  that,  and  so  extend  his 
knowledge  to  the  rest,  gradually  travelling  over  the  world, 
learning  no  descriptions  by  rote,  but  visiting  every  place  often, 
and  impressing  things,  not  words,  upon  the  mind.  If  the 
teacher,  while  pointing  at  the  map,  can  enliven  the  lesson  by 
a  pleasant  anecdote,  description,  or  picture,  so  much  the  better, 
and  any  teacher  may  do  this,  if  he  faithfully  prepares  himself 
for  the  lesson  ;  but  woe  unto  the  story  if  it  needs  to  be 
formally  committed  to  memory  ! 

The  first  time  I  go  over  the  world  with  a  pupil,  I  do  not 
hurry,  and  I  am  not  too  particular.  The  next  time  I  require 
more.  At  first,  the  states  and  countries  of  the  world  are 

*  A  subsequent  report  of  the  committee  declares  that  great  improvement 
has  been  made  in  these  schools  since  this  lecture  was  delivered,  and  the        .« 
liberal  appropriation  for  globes  and  outline  maps,  and  the  increased  activity 
of  the  teachers,  show  that,  ere  long,  Boston  will  be  herself  again. 


GEOGRAPHY.  97 

drawn  separately,  and  of  a  small  size  ;  next,  the  smaller  states 
are  grouped,  and  so,  at  each  course  over  the  world,  the  space 
included  in  the  maps  is  extended.  I  required  no  maps  to  be 
drawn  for  exhibition,  but,  once  a  year,  I  selected  a  fair  speci- 
men of  the  work  of  each  pupil,  and  bound  the  whole  neatly, 
as  a  sort  of  landmark  from  which  to  measure  the  progress  of 
the  pupils.  The  volumes  that  I  have  thus  preserved  are 
among  the  most  valuable  memorials  of  my  pupils  and  of  my 
labors. 

After  a  basis  is  thus  laid,  the  children  are  ready  to  enjoy 
history,  voyages  and  travels,  and  all  books  that  describe  the 
countries  with  whose  geography  they  are  acquainted.  It 
was  always  my  custom  to  select  a  good  newspaper,  and  read 
it,  or  suitable  parts  of  it,  to  my  more  advanced  classes.  If 
the  name  of  a  place  was  mentioned,  we  determined  its 
direction  and  distance  from  home  ;  and  if  the  name  was  new 
to  the  class,  they  noted  it  upon  paper,  and  at  the  next  lesson 
were  expected  to  tell  all  they  had  gathered  relating  to  it.  To 
meet  such  exigencies  the  school  was  always  furnished  with 
the  best  Atlases  and  Gazetteers  ;*  but  these  often  failed  us,  for 
the  newspapers  are  always  in  advance  of  books,  and  we  were 
often  obliged  to  go  into  the  world,  and  get  instruction  from 
men  who  know  more  of  the  actual  world  than  they  do  of 
books.  All  arrivals  and  departures  of  vessels,  most  adver- 
tisements, and,  indeed,  almost  every  part  of  the  paper,  besides 
imparting  the  knowledge  of  what  was  actually  going  on  in 
the  world,  made  the  pupil  acquainted  with  its  geography,  and 
afforded  me  countless  opportunities  of  imparting  that  useful 
and  practical  knowledge  which  the  child  will  never  pick  out 
of  his  textbooks,  and  the  want  of  which  makes  our  mere 
book-learned  pupils  as  unfit  for  business,  as  if  what  is  learned 
at  school  is  only  to  be  used  at  school,  having  nothing  to  do 
with  the  outward  world. 

In  this  way,  I  would  teach  geography  to  young  children 
and  to  all  beginners ;  but,  if  they  are  required  to  learn  history 
also,  they  should  connect  it  with  geography.  My  plan  was 
always  to  read  the  history  to  the  class,  requiring  them  to  look 
at  the  maps.  Each  pupil  also  drew  an  outline  map  on  paper, 

*  Perhaps  no  more  useful  assistant  has  been  afforded  to  teachers  than  the 
UNIVERSAL  PRONOUNCING  GAZETTEER  lately  prepared  by  THOMAS  BALDWIN, 
of  Philadelphia,  assisted  by  many  distinguished  scholars,  foreign  as  well  as 
native.  This  is  one  of  the  Books  of  Reference  that  should  be  in  every 
School  Library,  and  should  be  placed  there  by  School  Committees. 
9 


98  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

and,  as  fast  as  places  or  other  objects,  such  as  rivers,  moun- 
tains, &c.,  were  named,  they  were  marked  on  the  map,  and, 
if  there  was  room,  the  event  and  its  date  were  recorded  by 
their  side.  Maps  were  prepared,  adapted  to  the  different 
epochs  in  the  history  of  a  country ;  especially  if  such  divisions 
of  the  country  as  were  not  natural  and  permanent  were 
seriously  altered.  In  the  history  of  England,  for  instance,  the 
first  map  represented  England  as  it  was  when  first  invaded  by 
the  Romans.  The  second  represented  it  as  it  was  when  the 
Romans  left  it.  The  next,  divided  under  the  Saxon  Heptar- 
chy;  the  next,  after  its  reunion  under  Alfred;  then  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  then  in  our  own  times.  Sometimes, 
in  teaching  ancient  history,  we  hung  a  large  outline  map 
before  the  class,  and  marking  the  place  of  each  event  with 
both  the  ancient  and  modern  name,  and  inserting  no  name 
unknown  to  history,  we  formed  a  sort  of  historico-geographical 
map,  which  the  pupils  all  copied  for  private  use.  I  need  not 
go  further  into  these  details ;  the  plan,  probably,  is  not  so 
novel  now  as  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  when  I  adopted  it,  and 
I  have  said  as  much  as  the  intelligent  and  industrious  teacher 
needs,  and  far  more  than  the  indifferent  one  will  use. 

If  it  be  asked,  as  it  reasonably  may,  why  not  begin  at  once 
with  history,  and  let  geography  come  in  by  the  by  ?  I 
answer,  because  history  is  not  geography,  and  no  history  will 
touch  upon  a  hundredth  part  of  what  relates  to  the  geography 
of  a  country.  Books  of  voyages  and  travels  are  better  than 
history  in  this  respect,  but,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  a  good 
newspaper  is  better  than  all  of  them.  But  there  is  another 
serious  objection  to  this  indirect  mode  of  teaching  geography, 
and  it  is,  that  the  time  usually  spent  in  school  forbids  this 
course  of  instruction.  If  the  meagre  compends  of  history 
used  in  our  schools  be  adopted  as  a  guide,  the  child  will 
know  as  little  of  geography  as  of  history ;  and  if  the  larger 
histories  are  employed,  a  general  acquaintance  with  geog- 
raphy would  require  nearly  the  whole  threescore  and  ten 
years  allotted  to  mortals,  and  not  merely  the  few  years  of  a 
school  life.  No,  —  geography  is  as  much  a  science  as 
geometry,  and  it  can  be  picked  up  by  reading  history  no 
better  than  geometry  can  be  picked  up  by  reading  works  on 
astronomy.  The  elements  must  first  be  systematically  learned, 
and  then  the  cognate  sciences  may,  and  should,  aid  and  illus- 
trate each  other. 

In  teaching  geography  to  the  young,  a  question  of  some 


GEOGKAPHY.  99 

importance  is,  how,  or  rather,  where,  shall  we  begin  ?  The 
prevalent  opinion  among  the  best  teachers  is,  that  we  should 
begin  at  home.  Some  go  so  far  as  to  say,  we  should  begin  at 
the  school-room,  fix  the  points  of  the  compass,  teach  the  direc- 
tion of  the  roads,  the  boundaries  of  the  district,  the  contiguous 
districts,  the  boundaries  of  the  town,  the  situation  of  every 
pond,  stream,  hill,  and  other  important  object  in  it,  and  then 
proceed  to  the  next  town.  This,  on  the  whole,  is  the  true 
plan,  and  the  natural  one ;  but  you  may  have  perceived  that, 
in  describing  my  course,  I  first  gave  a  general  idea  of  the 
world,  that  the  child  might  know  what  and  where  home  was, 
and  this  course  had  been  forced  upon  me  by  the  attempt  to 
teach  entirely  on  the  home  plan.  When  I  marked  the  cardinal 
points  on  the  floor  of  my  school-room,  the  little  geographers 
would  ask,  "  What  does  north  mean,  sir  ?  Why  is  north 
always  there  ?  Do  we  live  on  the  top  or  bottom  of  the  world, 
sir?"  &c.  &c.,  questions  that  may  very  easily  be  answered  in 
one  lesson,  which  I  have  always  found  the  pleasantest  lesson 
the  child  ever  learns.  With  the  exception  of  this  one  lesson 
then,  I  would  begin  as  near  home  as  my  means  of  illustration, 
would  admit.  But,  alas,  how  defective  are  these  means ! 
Suppose  that,  in  obedience  to  the  directions  in  a  geography 
published  in  this  very  city,*  the  teacher  should  begin  at  the 
school-room.  He  will  naturally  look  into  the  book  for  infor- 
mation as  to  the  vicinity,  but  so  far  from  finding  any  at  the 
beginning  of  the  book,  he  finds  not  one  word  about  Connecti- 
cut until  he  reaches  the  one  hundred  and  ninety-fourth  page, 
and  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-two  pages,  but  one  is  devoted 
to  Connecticut,  and  nearly  half  of  this  is  a  picture  of  Yale 
College.  Another  popular  geography,  containing  three  hun- 
dred and  twelve  pages,  and  published  also  in  Hartford, 
gives' your  state ^but  one  page  and  a  half.  A  third  geog- 
raphy, published  in  New  York,  and  much  used,  gives 
Connecticut  three  of  its  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
pages,  including,  however,  a  view  of  Hartford,  and  what 
would  be  a  view  of  Yale  College,  if  the  trees  did  not  conceal 
all  the  buildings.  The  geography  perhaps  the  most  extensively 
used  in  this  country,  and  published  in  Philadelphia,  out  of 
three  hundred  and  thirty-six  pages,  allows  Connecticut  about 
two,  including  a  picture  of  a  school-house,  and  a  wagon  of 
emigrants  going  west;  but  whether  the  wagon  points  out  the 

*  The  Lecture  was  delivered  at  Hartford,  Conn. 


i^ 

^ 


100  THE    TEACHEHS'    INSTITUTE. 

object  of  the  school,  or  whether  both  these  objects  are  peculiar 
to  this  state,  we  are  not  informed.  Finally,  the  geography 
until  lately  used  in  the  schools  of  Boston,  and,  I  think, 
published  in  that  city,  contains  three  hundred  and  thirty 
pages,  and  spares  one  to  Connecticut,  but  then,  it  is  a  whole 
page,  without  the  drawback  of  a  picture.  The  number  of 
pages  devoted  to  Massachusetts  in  each  of  these  books,  is 
hardly  greater  than  is  given  to  Connecticut,  and  yet  our 
children  learn  nothing  of  our  state,  but  the  few  pages  I  have 
named,  and  can  you  wonder  that  they  know  as  little  of  Mas- 
sachusetts or  Connecticut  as  they  do  of  Tartary  or  Ethiopia  ? 
I  hope  these  details  will  be  excused  on  account  of  the  impor- 
tant bearing  they  have  upon  our  schools.  Few  of  our  children 
ever  go  beyond  the  limits  of  our  state,  and  no  geographical 
knowledge  can  be  so  important  to  them  as  the  knowledge  of 
that  state  with  which  they  are  so  intimately  connected ;  and 
yet,  for  half  a  century,  we  have  been  contented  to  let  them 
study  every  thing  but  this,  apparently  supposing  that  a  compe- 
tent knowledge  of  their  own  state  is  born  with  them,  and, 
being  an  instinct,  needs  no  cultivation. 

Some  most  important  apparatus  has  been  provided  of  late 
for  the  instruction  of  the  young  in  the  elements  of  geography; 
I  refer  to  black-boards  and  outline  maps.  These  seem  to  be 
all  the  teacher  would  require,  if  he  were  what  he  ought  to  be ; 
but  as  he  is  what  he  is,  some  textbook  must  guide  him,  or  he 
and  his  scholars  will  all  be  lost,  if  they  wander  a  furlong  from 
home.  Black-boards  may  be  made  a  substitute  for  outline 
maps,  but  they  serve  belter  as  helpers,  and  it  is  far  better  to 
use  both,  and  always  to  have  a  globe  at  hand  to  correct  the 
wrong  impressions  which  children  are  so  apt  to  receive  from 

aps,  however  drawn.  If  not  familiar  with  the  globe,  they 
will  be  constantly  inclined  to  think  the  surface  of  the  earth 
flat  as  a  map.  Being  accustomed  to  hold  the  northern  part 
of  their  maps  elevated,  they  will  naturally  connect  the  idea  of 
up  with  north,  and  of  down  with  south,  and,  perhaps,  to  this  we 
may  attribute,  in  a  great  measure,  the  mistake  in  regard  to  the 
course  of  Niagara  river,  to  which  I  have  before  alluded,  for  its 
course  is  almost  directly  north.  The  presence  of  the  globe  is 
also  necesssary  to  prevent  the  mischief  that  arises  from  using 
maps  drawn,  as  they  must  be,  on  various  scales.  The  map  of  the 
world  must  correct  this  error,  if  no  globe  is  at  hand ;  but  the 
map  of  the  world  is  on  a  plane,  and  needs  a  globe  to  correct 
itself.  Sometimes,  to  correct  erroneous  notions,  I  have  hung 


GEOGRAPHY.  101 

maps  apside  down  before  the  class.  The  outline  map  is  a 
safe  assistant,  in  so  far  as  it  presents  only  such  points  of  geog- 
raphy as  are  always  true  and  unchangeable,  and  is  not  apt  to 
be  crowded  with  the  less  important  matters  which  obscure 
other  maps.  The  practical  teacher  may  accustom  the  child 
to  look  upon  it  as  upon  the  earth's  surface ;  he  may  point  out 
the  general  features  of  the  country,  the  elevations  and  depres- 
sions, and  their  connection  with  the  source  and  course  of 
rivers;  and  a  few  lessons  of  this  sort,  that  require  no  book, 
would  save  the  poor  children,  and  the  poor  rivers  also,  a  deal 
of  up-hill  labor. 

The  textbooks  would  be  a  less  important  concern,  if  the 
teachers  were  all  they  ought  to  be ;  but  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  character  of  our  teachers  has  of  late  been 
greatly  improved,  though  not,  perhaps,  in  proportion  to  the 
additional  duties  imposed  upon  them.  Before  they  could 
become  expert  in  teaching  those  elementary  branches  which 
satisfied  our  fathers,  new  branches  have  been  introduced,  until 
we  seem  to  be  in  danger  of  having  a  surplus  of  colleges, 
without  any  good  schools.  It  would,  in  my  opinion,  be  wiser 
far  to  teach  a  little,  well,  and  to  have  the  instruction  such  only 
as  will  be  available  in  the  world.  Small  as  the  amount  of 
learning  is,  that  our  children  acquire  at  school,  a  large  portion 
of  it  is  as  unfit  for  use  as  if  it  were  never  intended  to  be  used. 
Grammar  is  any  thing  but  learning  the  correct  use  of  language ; 
geography  is  pantology,  as  I  have  shown ;  the  too  early  intro- 
duction of  algebra  has  made  almost  a  negative  quantity  of 
common  practical  arithmetic ;  those  who  have  mastered  book- 
keeping, seem  to  understand  only  the  waste;  proficients  in 
astronomy  cannot  tell  the  Little  Dog  from  the  Great  Bear ; 
profound  botanists  descant  on  the  structure  and  repeat  the 
hard  names  of  exotics,  without  knowing  the  name,  or  the  class, 
or  the  virtues  of  the  plants  on  which  they  daily  tread  ;  and 
thousands,  who  are  reported  to  have  mastered  a  foreign 
language,  cannot  pronounce  a  word  of  it  correctly.  This 
ought  not  to  be  so.  Progress  is  desirable,  but  not  at  such  an 
expense.  Let  me,  however,  return  to  my  subject.  Geography 
is  a  science  that  may,  in  a  great  measure,  be  exhibited  to  the 
senses,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  call  in  their  aid  in 
every  possible  manner.  If  the  countries  cannot  be  brought 
under  the  eye  of  the  pupil,  the  best  maps  of  them  must  be ; 
and  when,  in  this  way,  a  clear  idea  is  communicated  to  the 
mind,  there  is  no  need  of  committing  words  to  memory. 


102  THE   TEACHEBS'   INSTITUTE. 

And,  in  attempting  such  illustrations,  let  not  the  young 
teacher  be  discouraged  at  the  idea  lhat  he  may  not  execute  a 
map  as  readily,  or  as  well  as  a  veteran  teacher  might  do  it. 
Whether  he  knows  how  to  go  to  work  or  not,  let  him  rely  on 
the  perfecting  power  of  practice.  Be  not  afraid,  therefore, 
to  attempt  whatever  others  have  done,  and  let  no  fear  of 
failure  or  love  of  ease  induce  you  to  shrink  from  any  real 
improvement.  Above  all,  do  not  impose  upon  your  pupils 
any  system  of  instruction  which  mocks  them  with  a  show  of 
learning,  while,  by  leaving  no  useful  and  permanent  im- 
pressions on  the  mind,  it  really  inflicts  upon  the  innocent  a 
punishment  not  unlike  that  of  the  guilty  Danaides,  who  were 
condemned  to  be  perpetually  filling  with  water  a  vessel  whose 
bottom  was  full  of  holes. 


As  my  general  ideas  on  the  subject  of  geography  are  con- 
tained in  the  preceding  lecture,  I  shall  endeavor  now  to  give 
such  a  particular  account  of  my  manner  of  teaching,  as  will 
enable  the  teacher  to  carry  out  those  ideas  which  have  not 
been  sufficiently  explained. 

I  lay  it  down  as  an  axiom,  that  geography,  adapted  to 
common  schools,  must  be  limited  almost  entirely  to  topog~ 
raphy,  and  such  views  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  as  do  not 
properly  belong  to  any  other  science.  When  narrowed  down 
to  this,  it  may  be  understood  by  children,  for  it  may  be  made 
an  exercise  of  the  senses.  When  I  commenced  teaching,  the 
geographical  textbooks  were  not  essentially  different  from 
what  they  are  now.  Then,  as  now,  they  contained  much 
irrelevant  matter,  which  was  either  neglected  by  the  learner, 
or,  if  learned,  was  not  only  forgotten,  but  seemed  to  prevent 
all  attention  to  such  parts  of  geography  as  were  really  intelli- 
gible to  children,  and  worthy  of  being  remembered. 

While  instructing  at  the  Teachers'  Institutes,  I  have  had  a 
good  opportunity  to  verify  all  my  fears  upon  the  inutility  of 
teaching  geography  by  means  of  the  common  class  books. 
It  is  but  fair  to  conclude  that  the  thousand  teachers  whom  I 
have  met,  had  been  as  carefully  instructed  in  geography  as 
any  pupils  that  have  ever  issued  from  our  common  schools 
and  academies.  They  had  all  learned  books  by  heart,  and 
had  taught  their  pupils  to  do  the  same.  Of  the  descriptive 
part  of  geography  they  remembered  very  little,  and  so  far  from 
being  able  to  sketch  a  picture  of  any  country  from  memory, 
on  the  black-board,  or  on  paper,  the  majority  of  them  did  not 


GEOGRAPHY.  103 

venture  to  draw  a  map  from  a  copy  placed  before  them,  and 
many  had  never  attempted  to  do  this.  When  called  on  to 
name  islands,  or  rivers,  or  even  towns, —  to  name  them,  not 
to  describe  their  situation  or  other  peculiarities,  —  their  list 
was  soon  exhausted  ;  and  they  were  always  astonished  at  the 
fact  which  this  experiment  revealed,  for  the  first  time  evi- 
dently, to  themselves.  I  hope  they  will  excuse  me  for 
alluding  to  what  some  may  think  it  my  duty  to  conceal ;  but 
the  great  reform  to  which  I  am  assured  that  my  few  imperfect 
lessons  has  led,  satisfies  me  that  they  themselves  would  now 
use  this  argument,  the  strongest  that  can  be  produced,  of  the 
insufficiency  of  our  popular  textbooks,  and  of  the  prevalent 
method  of  teaching  geography ;  for,  surely,  if  the  best  pupils 
of  our  schools  become  teachers,  and,  after  teaching,  are  still 
deficient  in  a  tolerable  knowledge  of  the  easiest  part  of  the 
science,  topography,  time  has  been  wasted,  money  has  been 
wasted,  health  has  been  squandered ;  all,  pupils,  teachers, 
parents,  have  been  deceived,  and  a  thorough  reform  is 
needed,  is  demanded. 

I  do  not  speak  at  hazard  on  this  subject ;  I  saw  the  futility 
of  this  whole  system  of  instruction,  the  first  year  of  my  teach- 
ing, and  from  that  time  to  this,  I  have  avoided  it,  with  how 
much  reason,  my  pupils,  and  the  young  teachers  with  whom 
I  have  so  lately  compared  systems,  must  determine.  I  do 
not  fall  below  any  one  in  my  estimate  of  the  importance  of 
studying  the  history,  climate,  products,  natural  history, 
geology  and  other  peculiarities  of  each  portion  of  the  earth ;  I 
only  differ  from  others  in  regard  to  the  time  when  these  may 
best  be  connected  with  topography,  and  to  the  manner  of  that 
connection.  But  I  have  touched  upon  this  in  my  lecture,  and 
must  now  proceed  to  my  lesson. 

Let  me  suppose,  then,  that  a  class  of  small  children  stand 
before  me,  ready  to  receive  their  first  lesson  in  geography.  I 
should  proceed  with  them  somewhat  in  this  manner. 

My  little  friends,  do  you  know  what  is  meant  by  the 
earth  ?  —  Dirt,  says  one.  —  What  we  live  on,  says  another. 

Can  you  see  the  whole  of  the  earth  we  live  on  ? — No;  I 
guess  we  can't. 

Why  not  ?  —  It  is  so  big,  says  one.  —  It  is  so  long,  says 
another. 

No  ;  these  are  not  the  reasons.  When  you  approach  a 
town  what  do  you  see  first?  —  The  houses,  says  one.  —  The 
highest  trees,  says  another.  —  The  steeples,  says  a  third 


104 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


Why  do  you  see  the  highest  things  first  ?  When  asking 
this  question,  stand  a  short  thing  and  a  long  thing  beside 
each  other  on  a  level  form  or  table,  and  ask  again,  Why 
should  I  not  see  the  bottom  as  well  as  the  top  of  these 
things  ? 

Let  the  pupils  guess  as  long  as  they  please,  and  then  chalk 
part  of  a  circle  on  the  black-board,  if  you  have  not  a  large 
globe,  and  drawing  something  for  a  man  on  the  topmost  part 
of  the  curve,  (I  always  drew  what  are  called  "dot  and  line 
men"  for  such  purposes.)  Draw  another  line  from  his  head, 
so  that  it  shall  touch  a  remote  part  of  the  curve  and  glance 
off  in  a  straight  line,  then  make  a  steeple  or  tree  whose  top 
shall  rise  above  the  line,  thus  : 


Then  ask,  Can  any  one  tell  now,  why  one  little  man  sees  the 
top  of  the  tree  before  he  sees  its  trunk,  and  why  the  other 
man  sees  the  whole  tree  ? 

There  's  a  swell  between  them,  says  one,  at  last. 

Well,  wherever  you  stand  on  the  earth,  it  is  just  so,  and 
this  swell,  among  other  things,  has  led  men  to  think  that  the 
earth  must  be  round,  like  an  orange  or  an  apple. 

This  earth  is  not  only  round,  but  it  keeps  turning  round  all 
the  time.  Here  run  a  long  pencil  or  a  wooden  skewer, 
through  an  apple  or  a  round  potato,*  and  say,  The  earth 
turns  just  so,  and  always  in  the  same  direction. 

*  I  mention  this  rude  apparatus  because  it  is  common  for  district  teachers 
to  complain  of  the  want  of  globes  and  other  expensive  apparatus,  when  good 


GEOGRAPHY.  105 

Does  it  turn  on  a  stick,  sir  ?  —  No,  it  turns  on  nothing. 
God  made  it,  and  turned  it,  and  his  power  keeps  it  turning 
just  as  certainly  as  if  it  turned  on  an  axJetree. 

Now,  stick  a  pin  into  the  apple,  and  say,  there,  Mary  or 
John,  suppose  that  pin  to  be  you,  and  the  pin's  head  to  be 
your  head.  There  you  stand !  Well,  the  earth  turns 
entirely  round  in  a  day  and  night,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
in  twenty-four  hours.  How  many  hours  will  it  take  it  to 
turn  half  way  round?  —  Twelve  hours, says  some  one.  —  Well, 
let  us  turn  it  half  round,  and  put  another  pin  at  the  top,  right 
opposite  the  other. 

But,  says  John,  looking  big  with  his  discovery,  if  we 
turned  round  so,  we  should  fall  off,  shouldn't  we,  Mary? — I 
think  we  should,  says  Mary,  unless  we  are  fastened  on  some- 
how or  other. 

No,  the  earth  draws  you  to  itself,  and  keeps  you  on  in  spite 
of  yourselves.  —  How  can  it  draw  without  arms?  says  one. 
—  Why  don't  we  see  it  draw  ?  says  another. 

Did  you  ever  see  a  loadstone  or  a  magnet  ?  children.  —  No, 
sir,  or  Yes,  sir.  —  Well,  here  is  a  small  one.  Do  you  see  it 
draw  this  needle  ?  —  Yes,  say  they  all.  —  Where  are  its  arms  ? 
Can  it  draw  without  arms  ?  —  Yes,  it  does  ;  I  see  it  draw.  — 
No,  -you  do  not  see  it  draw,  you  only  see  the  needle  move 
towards  it. 

Well,  says  one,  we  don't  move  towards  the  earth  ;  we 
are  touching  it.  —  Jump  up,  John,  as  high  as  you  can,  and 
don't  come  down  again.  —  I  can't  stay  up,  says  John  ;  I  must 
come  down.  —  Yes,  if  you  get  away  from  the  earth,  you 
are  drawn  right  back  towards  it.  The  earth  is  like  a  great 
magnet,  and  draws  you  as  this  little  magnet  draws  the 
needle. 

Here  is  a  stick  of  sealing-wax.  If  I  rub  it  a  moment  on 
my  woollen  coat,  and  place  it  near  little  pieces  of  paper  or 
quill-feathers,  it  will  draw  them  in  the  same  manner. 

The  largest  things  are  drawn  the  hardest.  When  I  lift 
you,  John,  I  only  pull  you  away  from  the  earth,  which  is 
trying  to  hold  you  down.  I  am  larger  than  you,  and  the 
same  strength  that  would  lift  you  would  not  raise  me,  for  the 
earth  draws  me  much  harder  than  it  does  you.  The  resist- 
ance that  you  meet  with  when  you  try  to  lift  any  thing  is 

substitutes,  that  cost  nothing,  are  scattered  on  every  side  of  them.     For  a 
general  rule,  the  best  apparatus  for  schools  is  that  which  costs  the  least. 


106  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

called  its  weight,  but  there  would  be  no  weight,  if  the  earth 
did  not  pull  as  it  does. 

But  this  has  not  much  to  do  with  geography,  my  young 
friends.  I  only  showed  you  this  apple,  and  turned  it  to 
show  you  that  some  parts  of  the  apple  turn  faster  than  other 
parts. 

How  can  that  be,  sir,  if  all  turn  round  in  the  same  time  ? 
says  Mary. 

See  for  yourselves.  John,  stick  a  pin  into  the  apple  as  far 
from  the  two  ends  of  the  stick  as  you  can.  Very  well. 
Now,  stick  one  as  near  one  end  of  the  stick  as  you  can. 
Very  well,  again.  Now,  stick  one  half  way  between  the 
other  two.  Very  well.  Now  see  me  turn  the  apple,  and 
tell  me  which  goes  the  furthest  in  once  turning  round. 

This  one  in  the  middle,  says  John,  goes  the  furthest,  and 
that  hardly  goes  at  all  —  it  only  turns  round  the  end  of  the 
stick.  —  Well,  if  one  goes  so  much  further  than  the  other  in 
the  same  time,  which  must  move  the  fastest  ? 

I  did  n't  think  of  that  before,  said  John.  —  Well,  then,  the 
parts  that  go  the  least  distance,  and  turn  the  slowest,  must  be 
the  very  spots  where  the  ends  of  the  stick  are,  must  they 
not? 

Yes  ;  unless  the  earth  waggles  sometimes,  says  Mary. 

But  it  never  waggles,  as  you  call  it ;  it  always  turns  just 
so,  as  exactly  as  this  apple  must  turn  on  this  stick,  and  all  I 
have  been  saying  to  you  was  intended  to  teach  you  this  ;  for 
the  earth  has  two  spots  that  almost  stand  still  while  all  the 
rest  turns,  and  these  two  spots  are  always  in  the  same  part  of 
the  earth,  and  men  call  them  the  poles,  because  the  earth 
turns  on  them  as  exactly  as  if  they  were  the  ends  of  a  pole. 
One  is  called  the  North  pole,  and  the  opposite  spot  the  south 
pole.  Anything  that  points  towards  that  pole,  points  north, 
and  the  north,  of  course,  is  always  one  way.  On  some 
steeples,  you  see  N.  S.  and  E.  W.  under  the  vane,  and  this 
means  that,  when  the  vane  points  to  N.,  it  points  north,  and 
when  it  points  in  the  opposite  direction,  it  points  to  the  other 
still  spot,  which  we  call  south.  When  you  face  the  north 
spot,  or  pole,  the  right  hand  points  to  no  such  still  spot, 
but  we  say  it  points  east,  and  the  left  hand  points  west. 

Now  let  the  teacher  instantly  mark  on  the  floor,  or  on  the 
ceiling  of  the  school-room,  which  is  the  preferable  place,  these 
four  chief  points  ;  and,  if  he  wishes  further  to  please  the 
class,  let  him  ask  each  child  in  which  direction  his  home 


GEOGRAPHY.  107 

lies;  in  which  the  sun  rises  or  sets  ;  in -which  direction  the 
church  is,  or  any  hill,  or  other  visible  object  well  known  to 
the  child. 

Now  take  a  globe,  —  any  one  will  do, — and  show  the  child 
the  State,  or  the  spot  on  which  he  lives.  Make  him  see  how 
small  it  is  compared  with  the  whole  earth,  or  globe,  or 
world.* 

Let  him  tell  which  pole  is  nearest  to  his  home.  Then, 
while  you  turn  an  apple  on  the  stick,  let  him  chalk  or  scratch 
a  line  round  it,  just  as  far  from  one  pole  as  from  the  other. 
Let  the  pupil  do  this,  for  it  will  delight  him,  and  he  will 
never  forget  the  name  of  that  circle,  nor  why  it  is  drawn 
there,  and  called  the  Equator,  or  equaller.  The  teacher 
should  always  let  the  pupils  take  part  in  the  illustration,  if 
they  can. 

Then  you  may  ask  him  in  which  half  he  lives,  the 
northern  or  the  southern  ?  Which  way  from  his  home  the 
equator  lies  ?  &c.  &c. 

If  you  please,  you  may  let  him  mark  a  parallel  to  the 
equator  that  shall  pass  through  his  home,  and  a  meridian  that 
shall  do  the  same.t  But,  the  object  of  this  first  lesson  should 
be  to  teach  the  child  what  is  meant  by  north,  and  what  rela- 
tion home  bears  to  the  whole  globe. 

When  this  is  done,  you  may  proceed  at  once  to  teach,  from 
home,  all  that  is  important  in  the  town,  in  the  neighboring 
towns,  in  the  county,  in  the  state,  in  the  United  States,  in 
North  America,  in  the  Western  continent,  in  the  wide 
world. 

But,  previously  to  doing  this  to  any  extent,  it  is  .desirable 
to  teach  what  is  meant  by  a  map  ;  what  the  divisions  of  land 
and  water  mean ;  and  how  they  are  represented  on  the  globe, 
and  on  maps. 

Take  the  Atlas,  and  lay  open  the  map  of  the  Eastern  and 
Western  hemispheres.  Then  take  the  apple,  and  cutting  it 
from  pole  to  pole,  open  it  as  if  there  were  a  hinge  on  the  side 
nearest  to  you,  and  lay  it  down  on  the  two  hemispheres.  If 
the  atlas  contains  a  map  of  the  northern  and  southern  hemi- 

*  Earth  having  reference  to  the  substance,  globe  to  the  form,  and  world 
[whirled]  to  the  motion. 

t  An  interesting  and  expeditious  method  of  drawing  circles,  parallels, 
meridians,  &c.,  without  instruments,  is  described  in  the  introductions  to  my 
Elementary  Geography  and  Common  School  Geography,  and  with,  as  well  as 
without,  instruments  in  my  "  Eye  and  Hand." 


108 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


spheres,  cut  another  apple  at  the  equator,  and  open  that,  and 
laying  it  down,  show  how  the  poles  come  in  the  centre,  and 
why  the  circumference  is  the  equator. 


To  show  the  divisions  of  land  and  water,  take  the  globe,  if 
you  have  one,  and,  if  not,  a  map  of  the  hemispheres.  Show 
how  land  is  marked,  and  how  water.  Place  your  pen  on 


GEOGRAPHY.  109 

various  spots,  and  ask,  "  Is  this  land,  or  water  ?  "  When  this 
is  understood,  proceed  to  minor  divisions. 

Point  out  the  oceans  and  the  continents, —  all  the  oceans 
and  all  the  continents.  Show,  by  comparing  the  map  and  the 
apple,  how  the  oceans  are  divided.  Show  what  an  island  is, 
and  let  each  child,  in  turn,  point  to  one,  as  long  as  any  new 
ones  can  be  found.  Show  what  a  peninsula  is,  and  let  them 
point  out  peninsulas  as  long  as  they  find  any.  Then  take 
lakes  or  seas,  explain  each,  and  let  the  children  show  them 
as  long  as  they  can.  Be  sure  to  take  one  division  at  a  time, 
for  in  this  way  you  are  to  teach  what  the  divisions  are.  After 
the  child  knows  them,  you  may  review  him  by  pointing  to 
them  promiscuously,  and  asking  to  what  division  they  belong, 
whether  islands,  lakes,  or  what  ? 

I  believe  my  Geography  was  the  first,  in  this  country  at 
least,  that  taught  the  geography  of  every  country,  by  any 
system  that  classed  the  divisions  of  land  and  water,  and  it  is 
still  the  most  thorough  in  regard  to  this  sort  of  classification. 

Until  lately,  the  Massachusetts  child  had  no  means  of 
learning  the  geography  of  his  town,  county  and  state ;  and, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  true  at  this  moment,  as  it  has 
always  been,  that  no  geography,  except  mine,  furnishes  means 
of  learning  even  an  outline  of  the  geography  of  Massachusetts. 
Two  or  three  pages  have  been  all  that  could  be  spared  to  this 
important  state,  and  these  are  all  that  our  children  have  been 
taught.  The  consequence  is,  that  they  often  know  less  of  the 
geography  of  their  own  state,  than  of  China  or  Ethiopia,  and 
some  teachers,  that  I  have  met,  could  not  mention  a  dozen 
towns  of  Massachusetts,  and  tell  in  what  county  they  were 
situated. 

My  Elementary  Geography  for  Massachusetts  children, 
after  giving  a  due  proportion  of  general  geography,  devotes  one 
half  of  the  book  to  Massachusetts.  There  is  a  map  of  every 
county,  and  every  town  in  each  county  is  distinctly  marked 
on  the  county  map,  and  described  in  the  book. 

Furthermore,  I  have  prepared  a  large  outline  map,  much 
larger  than  that  published  by  the  Legislature,  on  which  every 
town  is  marked  and  bounded,  with  its  prominent  hills,  ponds, 
streams,  villages,  &c.  &c.  This  is  intended  to  be  suspended 
before  the  class,  when  they  are  reviewing  the  lessons  learned 
on  small  maps  in  the  book,  which  correspond  to  this  large  one. 
The  teacher,  too,  with  a  fescue,  will  frequently  travel  over 
the  large  map  with  his  class,  and  make  them  as  familiar  with 
10 


110  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

every  county,  town,  river,  railroad,  &c.,  as  they  are  with  the 
road  to  church. 

I  know  not  how  I  can  further  illustrate  my  method  more 
effectually  than  by  giving  a  brief  analysis  of  my  Common 
School  Geography. 

At  first,  such  a  general  idea  of  the  world,  as  has  just  been 
given,  is  attempted.  Then  a  few  questions,  to  be  answered 
by  an  examination  of  the  map  of  the  world,  are  given,  but  so 
given,  that  the  child,  by  searching  the  maps,  can  find  out  the 
answers,  without  a  key,  and  without  troubling  the  teacher. 
For  instance,  instead  of  asking  the  child  where  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  is,  the  question  is,  "  What  large  body  of  water  separ- 
ates America  from  Europe  and  Africa?"  He  kno\vs  water 
from  land,  and  he  has  been  taught  by  previous  questions 
where  the  five  grand  divisions  of  land  are  situated.  Every 
question  throughout  the  book  is  based  upon  knowledge 
previously  attained,  but  a  test  of  the  accuracy  and  thorough- 
ness of  the  child's  knowledge  of  one  lesson  is  applied  in  the 
next  that  follows ;  for,  after  the  child  has,  by  searching,  found 
out  the  answer  to  the  question  above  mentioned,  he  is  met 
with  the  question  reversed,  thus,  "  Where  is  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  ?  "  Every  question  in  the  book  has  its  reversed  ques- 
tion of  this  sort,  and  the  object  is,  not  only  to  enable  the  child 
to  learn  the  lesson  by  his  own  exertions,  but  to  prevent  a 
defect  not  unlike  that  which  is  often  seen  in  arithmetic,  when 
children  can  tell  how  many  7  times  9  are,  but  cannot  tell 
how  many  are  9  times  7. 

After  a  very  general  idea  of  the  world,  as  a  whole,  is  thus 
given,  the  map  of  Massachusetts  is  taken,  and  questions  relat- 
ing to  that  are  asked  in  the  same  manner,  and  afterwards  they 
are  put  in  another  form,  as  before  described.  The  Geography 
contains  a  small  outline  of  Massachusetts,  in  which  the  coun- 
ties only  are  represented.  While  learning  the  relative  position 
of  the  counties,  the  child,  however  young,  is  required  to  copy 
the  map  on  the  slate  or  black-board  repeatedly.  I  have  met 
with  many  teachers  who  pretended  that  they  could  not  do 
this,  but  I  never  met  with  a  child  who  studied  geography  and 
refused  to  draw  such  a  map  as  I  have  mentioned.  Children 
love  to  draw,  and  although  at  first,  their  work  is  very  imper- 
fect, the  idea  or  picture  in  the  mind  is  more  correct  than  that 
on  the  slate,  and  practice  will  soon  render  the  latter  very 
exact,  and  the  former  almost  indelible. 

Since  the  first  Teachers'  Institutes  were  held,  the  number 


GEOGRAPHY.  Ill 

of  teachers  who  require  their  pupils  to  draw  maps  has  very 
greatly  increased.  Many,  however,  still  shrink  from  it, 
because  they  are  unused  to  the  exercise,  but  this  obstacle  will 
soon  be  removed  by  the  practice  they  will  acquire  in  examin- 
ing the  work  of  their  pupils.  Many  who  can  draw  cannot 
print ;  but  how  soon  they  will  learn  the  form  of  letters  when 
they  once  attempt  to  make  them !  The  method  of  teaching 
the  alphabet  that  I  have  proposed,  will,  if  pursued,  remove  all 
objection  on  this  score. 

But  maps  drawn  on  the  slate,  and  on  the  black-board,  are 
soon  erased,  and  are  rarely  drawn  with  so  much  care  and 
accuracy  as  those  done  on  paper.  Let  the  children,  therefore, 
immediately  begin  to  draw  on  paper  also.  In  this  exercise 
no  instruments  should  be  used  but  the  eye,  the  fingers  and 
the  pencil  or  pen.  It  is  more  important  to  train  the  eye  and 
the  hand  than  to  have  a  perfect  drawing;  and  no  one  who  has 
not  seen  the  effect  of  practice  would  believe  me  were  I  to 
relate  some  instances  that  I  have  witnessed,  in  very  young 
pupils,  of  almost  perfect  accuracy  attained  without  the  aid  of 
any  instrument,  even  a  common  rule  or  dividers. 

The  immense  advantage  of  such  a  trained  eye  and  hand  to 
man  or  woman  must  be  seen  without  an  argument ;  and  yet, 
although  by  early  training  it  may  be  acquired  by  almost 
every  one,  how  few  have  even  a  tolerable  degree  of  skill  or 
accuracy  in  this  exercise.  At  the  risk  of  making  my  book 
too  large,  I  have  already  given  some  instruction  in  this  matter 
of  drawing,  and,  therefore,  I  shall  only  say  here,  that,  if  the 
drawing  of  maps  were  not  the  most  effectual  method  of  fixing 
the  topography  of  countries  in  the  memory,  its  value  as  an. 
exercise  of  the  eye  and  hand  should  make  it  an  indispensable 
exercise  in  every  school. 

But  what  sort  of  maps  shall  be  drawn  by  beginners? 
Small  ones,  by  all  means.  The  rule  should  be  to  draw  the 
map  that  relates  to  the  lesson  in  preference  to  any  other,  and 
to  put  upon  it  only  such  rivers,  towns  and  other  divisions  of 
land  and  water  as  are  mentioned  in  the  lesson.  A  specimen 
of  this  course  is  given  in  my  geographies,  by  which  any 
teacher  can  be  guided,  whether  his  pupils  use  the  book  or 
not. 

It  will  save  the  teacher  much  trouble  if,  at  the  outset,  he 
writes  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  the  order  in  which  maps  shall  be 
drawn,  and  puts  it  up  in  some  place  easily  accessible  to  the 
pupils.  They  will  not  then  be  troubling  him  with  the  ques- 


112  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

tion,  "  What  map  shall  I  draw  next,  sir  ?  "  In  my  Geography, 
the  map  of  the  United  States  furnishes  twenty  pages  of  lessons, 
and  while  the  class  is  learning  these,  separate  maps  of  every 
state  should  be  drawn  on  the  slate,  and  on  the  black-board, 
and  finally,  for  preservation,  on  paper.  The  children  will 
learn  the  lessons  the  first  time  sooner  than  they  will  draw  all 
the  maps,  but  they  will  do  better  to  .go  over  the  questions 
again  than  to  proceed  to  another  map. 

Let  all  the  maps  be  drawn  on  paper  of  uniform  size,  say  an 
eighth  of  a  sheet  of  letter  paper ;  this  the  teacher  must  require, 
and  he  must  require  every  piece  to  be  neatly  Jorn  or  cut,  and 
this  the  child  can  easily  be  taught  to  do.  Let  him  fold  the 
paper  once,  then  scrape  the  edge  to  be  torn  with  his  thumb  or 
finger  nail,  and  then  carefully  tear  it,  or  cut  it  with  a  dull 
knife.  Let  him  then  fold,  and  scratch,  and  tear  again,  till  the 
paper  is  of  the  right  size.  This  uniformity  of  size  and  neat- 
ness of  edge  may  seem  to  be  a  small  matter,  but  I  can  assure 
the  teacher  that,  if  he  does  not  always,  IN  ALL  THINGS,  attend 
to  such  matters,  his  pupils  will  always  be  deficient  in  neat- 
ness and  order.  After  my  pupils  had  drawn  their  maps  in 
this  way,  and  shown  them  to  me,  they  were  required  to  fold 
them  up  uniformly,  as  a  merchant  folds  his  letters  and  bills, 
maps  in  one  file,  orthographical  exercises  in  another,  and  so 
with  other  branches,  and  each  exercise  was  required  to  be 
labelled  so  that  its  contents  might  be  known  without  taking  it 
from  the  bundle.  I  verily  believe  that,  by  this  course,  I  did 
more  to  induce  a  habit  of  order  and  neatness,  than  I  could 
have  done  by  all  the  lectures  that  I  could  have  preached,  if  I 
had  done  nothing  but  preach,  for  the  whole  term  of  a  school 
life.  The  neatness  with  which  some  of  my  pupils  filed  and 
labelled  their  exercises  would  have  done  credit  to  one  of  our 
Pearl  street  accountants. 

This  care  of  exercises  had  another  good  effect.  No  loose 
papers  were  seen  strowed  over  the  desks  of  the  pupils ;  the 
books  were  not  thrown  into  the  desks  any  how,  but  every  thing 
in  the  desk  was  arranged  in  order,  and  I  made  it  a  point  to 
examine  every  desk  often,  to  commend  the  neat,  and  to  warn 
or  instruct  the  careless.  I  may  say  more  on  this  subject  when 
I  come  to  the  subject  of  neatness,  but  I  must  now  return  to 
the  description  of  the  manner  of  drawing  maps  on  paper,  with 
ink. 

There  is  an  order  to  be  observed  in  the  drawing  of  a  map, 
and  the  pupil  must  be  taught  first  to  draw  the  outline  with  a 


GEOGRAPHY.  113 

lead  pencil ;  next,  he  must  ink  it  neatly  with  a  pen.  Then, 
if  ever,  he  must  color  it.  Next,  let  him  draw  the  rivers  and 
mountains.  Then  let  him  make  the  little  o  that  marks  the 
situation  of  towns,  and  then  let  him  print,  not  write,  the 
names,  so  that  they  will  bear  upon  the  o,  and  not  be  so  far 
from  it  as  to  appear  to  belong  to  something  else. 

In  coloring  maps,  only  three  or  four  good  colors  are 
needed.  India  ink,  Prussian  blue,  lake,  gamboge  and  green 
verditer,  are  enough  ;  and  as  no  child  would  use  a  large  cake 
in  a  long  term,  and  small  cakes  are  generally  of  poor  quality, 
the- teacher  should  purchase  some  large  cakes,  and  cut  them 
up,  so  that  a  piece  of  each  of  the  five  colors  named  will  only 
cost  about  as  much  as  one  whole  cake  of  either.  The  best 
way  to  use  these  paints  is  to  rub  off  a  little  of  each  color  upon 
a  saucer  or  other  piece  of  crockery  ware.  One  hair  pencil 
will  do,  if  well  washed  before  the  color  is  changed  ;  but,  as 
hair  pencils  can  be  bought  for  about  a  cent  apiece,  the  neat 
pupil  will  try  to  have  a  hair  pencil  for  every  color.  A  little 
mug  of  water  will  be  found  useful,  if  it  be  only  to  prevent 
the  dirty  practice  of  wetting  the  brush  with  the  mouth,  —  a 
practice  not  uncommon  in  schools  where  painting  is  taught, 
and  not  always  free  from  danger,  some  paints,  especially  the 
greens,  containing  poisonous  ingredients. 

In  shading  the  shores  of  a  country  or  of  a  lake,  India  ink 
should  be  used,  and  to  do  the  work  perfectly,  the  pupil  should 
have  two  brushes.  With  one  he  must  draw  a  small  portion 
of  the  coast  neatly,  and,  while  it  is  wet  he  must  take  the 
other  brush,  which  is  clean,  but  wet,  and  spread  the  India 
ink  from  the  shore  outward.  Do  but  a  little  of  the  shore  at  a 
time,  for,  if  the  ink  dries  before  it  is  spread  with  the  wet 
brush,  it  can  never  be  well  spread  afterwards. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  description  of  my  Geography.  At 
the  first  lessons,  specimens  of  map-drawing  are  given,  that 
the  pupil  may  see  what  is  expected  of  him.  The  lessons 
proceed  from  his  own  state  to  the  United  States,  North 
America,  South  America,  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  Australia, 
and  Polynesia.  Every  country  is  treated  systematically ; 
that  is,  each  division  of  land  and  water  is  by  itself.  Nothing 
is  to  be  committed  to  memory,  the  practice  of  examining  and 
drawing  maps  most  effectually  communicating  and  fixing  the 
ideas. 

After  every  map  has  been  gone  over  in  this  way,  there  is  a 
series  of  lessons  in  what  are  called  Voyages  and  Travels. 
10* 


114  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Questions  are  asked  which  oblige  the  child  to  travel  over 
every  map,  and  describe  the  countries,  rivers,  seas,  &c.,  that 
he  passes  over.  Among  other  lessons,  an  account  of  the 
voyages  of  Columbus,  Cook,  La  Peyrouse,  Vancouver,  and 
Kruzenstern  is  given,  and  this  sort  of  exercise  may  be  con- 
tinued to  any  extent  by  the  teacher. 

But  the  child  thus  far  has  only  studied  the  countries  separ- 
ately, and  a  General  Review  is  now  provided  for,  in  which 
all  the  countries,  towns,  rivers,  islands,  and  other  divisions  of 
the  whole  world  are  introduced,  not  with  a  table  of  statistics 
to  burden  the  memory  of  the  child,  but  in  such  order  as  to 
show  the  relative  size  of  each,  and  enable  the  child  to  com- 
pare known  countries  and  objects  with  the  remote  and 
unknown. 

An  appendix  follows,  in  which  some  of  the  maps,  especially 
that  of  Massachusetts,  is  more  particularly  described  than  at 
the  beginning  of  the  book.  Next  come  practical  exercises  on 
the  latitude  and  longitude  of  places  ;  the  difference  of  time 
produced  by  a  difference  of  longitude,  and  of  climate  by  a 
difference  of  latitude ;  to  all  which  is  added  a  list  of  names 
used  in  the  book,  in  whose  pronunciation  there  is  any  diffi- 
culty. 

In  the  Geography  thus  briefly  described,  there  are  three 
peculiarities  not  to  be  found,  I  think,  in  any  other. 

1.  It  contains  little   or  no  matter  that  may  be  considered 
changeable.     In  most  cases,  a  revised  edition  of  a  geography 
differs  so  much  from  former  editions,  that  the  new  books  will 
not  class  with  the  old,  and  the  teacher  must  be  troubled  with 
different  books  in  the  same  class  ;  or  must  form  two  classes  ;  or 
must  throw  away  the  old  books  as  worthless.     The  perma- 
nent materials  of  the  Common  School  Geography  will  prevent 
any  evils  of  this  sort. 

2.  The  second  peculiarity  is  the  order  and  distinct  classifi- 
cation which  pervade  the  whole  book.     There  is  no  jumbling 
of  all  the  sciences  together.     Pure  geography  only  is  taught, 
and  this   is  taught  in  order.     Instead  of  introducing  history, 
philosophy,  and  a  variety  of  other  matters  to  impress   the 
topography  of  a  country  on  the  memory,  the  child  is  taught  to 
travel  over  the  territory,  and  draw  its  outlines,  until  a  never- 
fading  picture  is  delineated  in  the  mind. 

3.  The  book,  though  not  a  large  one,  is  sufficient  for  any 
district  school,  and  contains  within  itself  the  materials  fot 
never-ending  progress,  if  the  directions  in  the  book  are  fol- 


GEOGRAPHY.  115 

lowed  by  the  teacher.  The  first  time  the  child  goes  through 
the  book,  he  is  required  to  give  one  particular  only.  When 
asked  where  is  Boston,  for  instance,  he  will  say  it  is  the 
capital  of  Massachusetts.  Next  time  he  may  be  required  to 
tell  its  situation  at  the  east  of  the  state.  Next  time  he  goes 
through,  he  may  say  it  is  mostly  situated  on  a  peninsula,  at 
the  head  of  Boston  Bay,  which  is  an  arm  of  Massachusetts 
Bay.  Next,  he  may  give  all  that  has  before  been  given,  and 
add  its  latitude  and  longitude  ;  —  or,  a  class  may  be  required 
to  name  some  town,  or  island,  or  river,  in  turn,  as  long  as  any 
mentioned  in  the  books  have  not  been  named.  Confine  this 
operation  to  one  country  until  all  the  names  of  every  division 
of  land  and  water  are  familiar  ;  then  include  the  whole  conti- 
nent ;  then  the  whole  world.  After  they  can  readily  name 
all  the  towns,  or  all  the  islands,  &c.,  in  the  book,  let  them  be 
allowed  to  take  their  maps,  and  go  as  much  further  as  they 
please.  The  mere  naming  of  the  place  or  thing,  however, 
must  not  suffice,  but  some  particular  relating-to  it  should  be 
described,  so  that  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  child 
knows  where  it  is  situated.  I  generally  required  my  class  to 
stand  during  this  exercise,  so  that  they  could  have  no  access 
to  books  or  maps.  Then  they  answered  in  turn,  trying  but 
once,  and  sitting  if  they  could  recollect  no  new  name,  or 
named  what  had  previously  been  named  by  another. 

As  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  this  was  the  first  book 
that  recommended  the  reading  of  newspapers  to  the  upper 
classes  in  geography.  Every  teacher  knows  that,  much  of 
the  geography  taught  in  our  schools  is  not  such  as  is  of  every 
day  use  in  society  and  common  life  ;  and  perhaps  nothing  so 
completely  shows  what  should  be  taught  for  geography  as 
these  very  newspapers.  All  that  is  doing  in  the  world  is 
there  recorded  long  before  it  gets  into  books.  The  mere 
record  of  arrivals  and  clearances  is  an  excellent  lesson.  The 
reading  of  the  news  shows  in  what  the  books  are  deficient, 
and  if,  while  the  teacher  is  reading,  the  children,  atlas  in 
hand,  find  the  places  mentioned,  or,  slate  in  hand,  record 
them,  to  be  found  against  the  next  lesson,  a  fund  of  geo- 
graphical knowledge  will  be  acquired,  that  may  be  sought  for 
in  vain  among  the  pages  of  the  textbooks. 

Every  child  that  studies  geography  should  be  taught  to 
draw  maps.  Next  to  the  orthographical  exercises  and  the 
correction  of  false  grammar,  in  which  I  had  hundreds  of 
manuscript  exercises,  which  I  intend,  one  of  these  days,  to 


116  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

/ 

publish  in  the  form  of  a  third  part  to  my  Common  School 
Grammar ;  next,  I  say,  to  these,  for  its  effect  on  the  industry, 
and,  of  course,  on  the  discipline  of  the  school,  is  the  drawing 
of  maps.  How  infinitely  superior  to  the  common  practice  of 
sitting  idle,  or  even  of  committing  lessons  to  memory,  would 
be  the  directing  of  children  to  draw  maps  on  a  black-board,  or 
on  a  piece  of  paper.  Never  let  a  child  have  it  in  his  power  to 
say,"  I  have  nothing  to  do."  I  believe  that,  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  no  pupil  of  mine  could  ever  say  this  with 
truth. 

Once  a  year,  it  was  my  custom  to  let  every  pupil  draw  a 
map  to  be  bound  in  a  volume,  and  kept  as  a  record  of  the 
ability  of  each,  and  as  a  landmark  of  the  progress  of  the 
school,  as  a  whole,  in  this  branch  of  manual  skill.  I  fur- 
nished to  every  pupil  a  piece  of  paper  of  uniform  size,  and  left 
it  to  her  to  draw  what  map  she  pleased,  and  to  ornament  it 
as  her  taste  might  dictate.  I  have  preserved  many  such 
volumes,  and  the)'  are  to  me  precious  memorials  of  pupils 
who  are  now  mothers  or  teachers,  or  inhabitants  of  that  better 
country  not  mentioned  in  our  geographies.  It  is  not  unusual 
for  parents  to  bring  their  children  to  see  what  "  mother  did 
when  she  was  of  their  age;"  and  it  often  happens  that  the  first 
and  last  map  the  pupil  ever  drew,  is  preserved  in  these 
volumes.  In  one  of  them  are  eight  maps,  drawn  by  children, 
five  or  six  years  of  age,  who  were  not  studying  geography, 
but  who,  seeing  what  the  others  were  doing,  requested  per- 
mission to  draw  a  map  for  the  book.  The  outline,  printed 
names,  and  coloring,  are  entirely  their  own,  and  their  names 
and  ages,  well  written  by  themselves,  are  at  the  bottom  of 
their  maps.  What  would  not  many  men  and  women  give  for 
such  a  specimen  of  the  work  of  their  earliest  days  !  Every 
district  school  should  have  such  a  book  annually  bound  like 
the  School  Register,  and  sacredly  kept  as  the  property  of  the 
town. 


117 


A  LECTURE 

On  the  "  Uses  and  Abuses  of  Memory  in  Education  ;"  delivered 
at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  before  the  Convention  of  County 
Superintendents  of  Common  Schools,  and  first  published  at 
their  request,  by  WILLIAM  B.  FOWLE. 

GENTLEMEN,  —  The  subject  on  which  I  propose  to  offer  a 
few  plain  remarks  for  your  consideration,  is  Memory  — 
Memory,  that  wonderful  faculty  of  the  mind  which  alone  per- 
petuates the  product  of  all  the  others ;  which  resuscitates  the 
past,  and  enables  us  to  lay  up  for  future  use  the  knowledge 
we  may  acquire  by  study  or  experience. 

What,  then,  is  Memory  ?  The  aged  will  perhaps  tell  us 
that  it  is  a  gloomy  treasure  house  of  regrets ;  the  young, 
that  it  has  no  existence ;  the  fortunate,  that  it  is  a  paradise  to 
which  his  constantly  receding  footsteps  would  fain  return,  but 
from  which  he  is  constantly  driven  by  the  flaming  sword  of 
his  onward  destiny,  —  while,  to  the  disappointed,  memory  is  a 
barren  waste,  without  one  verdant  spot ;  a  cheerless  desert, 
where  the  monuments  that  rise  over  buried  hopes,  never  cease 
to  cast  their  deep  shadows  upon  the  present  scene.  In  this 
sense,  memory  is  very  much  what  our  propensities  and  habits, 
our  virtues  and  vices,  may  make  it ;  but  the  memory  with  which 
teachers  have  to  do  is  less  poetical,  —  a  more  matter  of  fact 
affair,  and  as  such  only  would  it  become  me  now  to  speak  of  it. 

As  all  discipline  of  the  mind  depends  upon  a  proper  educa- 
tion of  this  wonderful  faculty,  it  is  important,  surely,  that  we 
should  endeavor  to  ascertain  what  it  is,  and  we  naturally  go 
to  the  metaphysicians  and  put  the  question  to  them ;  but  the 
definitions  of  these  philosophers  are  as  various  as  they  are 
unsatisfactory.  Whilst  all  acknowledge  that  memory  is  a 
faculty  of  the  mind,  all  have  been  puzzled  to  tell  how  it  is 
connected  with  the  mind,  and  how  it  operates. 

One  maintains  that  it  is  only  a  continued  but  weakened 
perception,  (that  is,  a  feeling  not  repeated,  but  forever  felt.) 

Another  says  it  is  only  what  remains  after  a  sensation, 
(like  the  vibration  of  a  string  that  is  never  to  be  struck 
again.) 


118  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

A  third  declares  it  to  be  a  sensation,  or  an  idea  renewed 
(but  he  could  not  tell  us  what  renews  it.) 

A  fourth  tells  us  that  it  is  a  sort  of  sensibility  so  delicate 
that  it  can  be  affected  by  a  past  sensation,  (as  a  place  once 
struck  is  susceptible  to  a  slighter  blow  afterwards;  but  we  are 
not  told  how,  or  by  what  the  repeated  blow  is  given.) 

A  fifth  has  called  memory  that  faculty  which  experiences 
anew  what  has  been  already  perceived,  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  it  has  been  previously  perceived;  (but  this  is  a  state- 
ment of  facts,  and  no  explanation  of  them.) 

A  sixth  describes  memory  to  be  a  power  of  the  mind  to 
revive  or  recall  former  impressions. 

A  seventh  insists  that  memory  is  not  itself  a  faculty,  but  an 
attribute  of  every  other  faculty,  and  this,  it  appears  to  me,  is 
the  only  theory  that  a  teacher  can  tolerate  for  a  moment. 

But,  although  the  descriptions  of  this  mysterious  faculty 
have  been  so  various,  not  so  have  been  the  systems  of  instruc- 
tion based  upon  them,  for  these  have  been  very  uniform,  and, 
I  fear,  uniformly  erroneous.  All  the  theories  of  memory,  but 
the  last  I  mentioned,  agree  that  it  is  a  single  power  of  the 
entire  mind,  and  that  it  only  requires  an  act  of  the  will  for 
the  mind  to  perform  one  act  of  memory  as  well  as  another. 
In  other  words,  the  common  notion  seems  to  be,  that  every 
mental  storehouse  is  fitted  up  for  the  same  kind  of  goods,  and 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  fill  all  alike;  and  this  attempt 
at  filling  is  often  carried  on  until  school  days  are  over,  when 
the  mind,  no  longer  controlled,  for  the  first  time  discovers  its 
own  fitness  and  capacity,  and  begins  to  accumulate  treasures 
entirely  different,  perhaps,  from  those  which  had  been  forced 
down,  notwithstanding  the  disgust  and  nausea  that  always 
accompanied  the  operation. 

We  do  not  know  what  the  mind  is,  and  we  can  hardly 
expect  to  understand  all  its  faculties.  But,  as  in  the  case  of 
electricity  and  the  subtler  fluids,  if  we  cannot  ascertain  the 
nature  of  memory,  we  may  ascertain  some  of  its  laws ;  and 
by  this  method  we  may  approach  nearer  and  nearer  to  that 
seat  of  the  mind,  which  is  surrounded  with  clouds  almost  as 
impenetrable  as  those  tremendous  shades  which  involve  the 
eternal  throne  ;  and  though  mortals  may  not  hope  to  be  admit- 
ted to  the  secret  place  where  light  actually  dwelleth,  we  may, 
we  must  ascertain  something  more  of  its  nature  and  of  its  laws, 
or  the  very  light  that  is  in  us  will  continue  to  be  darkness. 

I  have  said,  that  various  as  are  the  theories  of  memory,  the 


MEMORY.  119 

use  that  is  made  of  it  in  education  is  altogether  too  uniform. 
So  prevalent  is  the  error  on  this  subject,  that  when  men  speak 
of  memory,  it  rarely  happens  that  any  other  operation  of  the 
mind  is  meant  than  that  which  \ve  exercise  in  common  with 
parrots,  I  mean  the  recollection  of  words.  You,  who  are 
teachers,  know,  that  when  parents  bring  their  little  unfledged 
angels  to  you,  and  wish  to  make  you  sensible  of  their  prodig- 
ious talents,  the  burden  of  praise  almost  uniformly  is,  that  they 
can  commit  ever  so  many  pages  at  a  lesson.  Commit !  —  yes, 
and  commit  suicide  at  the  same  time.  It  is  this  notion,  this 
mistaking  of  the  mere  memory  of  words  for  the  whole  of 
memory,  that  I  consider  the  unpardonable  sin  of  teachers  and 
bookmakers  at  the  present  day.  I  hope  my  remarks  will  not 
be  considered  as  those  of  one,  who,  having  laid  aside  the 
harness,  has  no  better  use  for  his  leisure  than  to  make  obser- 
vations upon  those  whom  he  has  left  in  the  traces;  but  rather 
as  the  remarks  of  one,  who,  for  twenty  years  at  least,  has 
practised  what  he  now  preaches,  and  who  has  reason  to 
believe  that  thousands  of  his  late  fellow-laborers  would  be  glad 
to  adopt  the  system  he  recommends,  if  those  who  superintend 
their  schools  would  second  their  endeavors,  and  supply  the 
means  of  communicating  ideas  instead  of  words. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  position  I  have  assumed, 
that  the  memory  of  words  is  generally  considered  the  whole 
of  memory.  What  is  the  first  employment  of  the  mind  in  the 
nursery  ?  Learning  to  say  things  by  heart ;  that  is,  to  say 
them  heartlessly.  When  I  was  at  a  dame's  school,  I  learned 
the  Assembly's  Catechism,  —  the  compend  of  it  that  was  then 
printed  in  the  N.  E.  Primer,  —  so  thoroughly,  that  I  could 
repeat  it  backwards  as  well  as  forwards,  and  understood  it  one 
way  just  as  well  as  the  other.  When  the  dame  had  visitors, 
I  was  often  brought  forward  to  perform  this  feat,  crab-fashion, 
to  the  great  amazement  of  the  visitors,  the  glorification  of  the 
venerable  dame,  and  to  my  own  great  edification  in  Christian 
knowledge  and  humility !  God  forgive  her,  if  she  erred  in 
teaching  me  the  first  step  in  that  narrow  way,  whose  gate  she 
opened  with  love  if  not  with  judgment ! 

Then  the  child  reads  books  without  having  them  explained, 
and  generally  without  any  examination  by  the  teacher,  —  for 
who,  until  perhaps  very  lately,  ever  heard  of  examining  a 
child  in  his  reading  lesson,  except  perhaps  to  correct  the  pro- 
nunciation of  a  word,  or  to  settle  the  power  of  a  dash  or 
comma, — although  the  reading  lesson  may  be  the  best  medium 


120  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

for  conveying  useful  knowledge  to  the  mind,  the  best  opportu- 
nity for  teaching  the  definition  of  words,  the  precious  occasion 
for  inculcating  a  healthful  taste  for  substantial  food  ! 

Then,  at  an  early  age,  English  grammar  must  be  studied, 
committed,  I  mean,  for  the  words  are  by  no  means  synony- 
mous. The  words  of  some  manual  must  be  said  or  sung  for 
a  given  number  of  years,  until  the  child  arrives  at  that  ne 
plus  ultra  of  philology,  "  a  substantive  or  noun  is  the  name 
of  any  thing  that  exists  or  of  which  we  have  any  notion,  as 
man- virtue- London ;"  and  then,  if  the  child  is  at  a  loss  to 
know  exactly  what  sort  of  notion  "  man-virtue- London " 
is,  he  will  riot  fail  to  learn  what  it  is  "  to  be,  to  do  and  to 
su/er." 

Geography,  of  course,  cannot  long  stay  uncommitted.  A 
book  is  placed  in  the  child's  hands,  containing  on  an  average, 
about  350  pages.  The  committing  of  this  to  memory  is 
generally  the  work  of  years,  and,  by  the  time  the  task  is  done, 
the  world  has  so  changed,  that  more  than  half  the  book  con- 
tains is  incorrect,  and  the  only  consolation  the  poor  victim  has 
is  the  consideration  that,  if  what  has  been  learned  is  not  true, 
it  will  do  no  harm,  for  it  has  been  forgotten  as  fast  as  it  was 
learned. 

Next,  the  child  must  study  history.  —  study  history !  That 
is,  he  must  commit  page  after  page  to  memory,  or,  at  least,  such 
paragraphs  as  have  been  adjudged  a  sufficient  answer  to  a 
stereotyped  question.  The  meaning  of  the  language  is  not 
elicited  by  any  impertinent  inquiries ;  the  geography  of  the 
country  at  different  epochs  is  not  allowed  to  interrupt  the 
thread  of  the  narrative,  and  the  practical  and  moral  conclu- 
sions are  left,  as  the  gramarians  say,  understood. 

1  could  add  to  this  summary,  astronomy,  botany,  the  various 
branches  of  natural  history  and  natural  philosophy,  the  modern 
and  ancient  languages,  and  all  the  branches  usually  tormented 
in  our  higher  schools  ;  but  I  have  said  enough  to  illustrate  my 
remark,  that  common  school  education  is  generally  conducted 
as  if  there  were  no  memory  but  that  of  words,  and  as  if  this 
were  all  that  is  essential  to  the  proper  development  of  ideas, 
and  the  full  exercise  of  every  intellectual  faculty. 

Leaving  the  school  for  a  moment,  let  us  look  abroad  into 
the  world,  and  see  how  facts  corroborate  this  opinion.  If  you 
select  half  a  dozen  persons  of  good  intelligence,  it  is  probable 
that  the  memory  of  each  will  be  different  from  the  others. 
You  will,  perhaps,  hear  the  first  deploring  his  wretched 


MEMORY.  121 

memory,  which  cannot  recollect  his  children's  names,  and,  in 
the  next  breath,  he  will  hum  a  tune  that  he  has  heard  but  once, 
perhaps,  half  a  century  before.  Another  says  he  cannot 
remember  the  name  of  a  person,  but  if  he  has  seen  a  man 
once,  he  never  forgets  him,  and  yet  he  complains  of  a  treach- 
erous memory  !  A  third  had  no  memory  at  school,  and  could 
never  learn  his  lessons ;  but  he  can  never  forget  the  brutality 
of  the  master,  who  regularly  flogged  him  for  not  doing  what 
he  would  gladly  have  done  if  he  could.  He  "  never  can  for- 
get," and  yet  he  has  no  memory.  A  fourth,  perhaps,  has 
travelled  much,  and  can  describe  most  particularly  every  route 
or  every  object  he  has  seen,  but  as  he  sometimes  forgets  an 
appointment  or  a  message,  he  laments  that  he  has  no  memory. 
A.  fifth  can  never  quote  a  line  of  poetry,  and  concludes  she  has 
no  memory,  although  the  chronicles  of  scandal  are  engraved 
on  her  memory  of  adamant,  and  she  is  not  unlike  one  of  our 
western  mounds,  the  capacious  receptacle  of  worthy  characters 
that  have  been  slain,  and  from  which  the  curious  may  at  any 
time  extract  the  sad  memorials  of  human  frailty.  A  sixth,  in 
fine,  who  cannot  recollect  the  text  at  church,  or  a  single  senti- 
ment of  the  discourse,  will  tell  you  how  long  her  poorer 
neighbor  has  worn  the  same  bonnet,  and  how  every  person  in 
church  was  dressed ;  or,  perhaps,  she  recollects  every  christen- 
ing for  more  than  half  a  century,  to  the  great  annoyance  of 
advanced  spinsters  and  old  bachelors,  who  would  prefer  to 
have  this  matter  confined  to  the  family  Bible. 

If  this  be  a  true  picture  of  life,  it  follows  that  every  person 
has  a  memory  for  something,  and  that  something  is  usually 
what  occupies  the  strongest  faculty  of  the  mind,  and,  of  course, 
affords  the  greatest  pleasure.  A  musician  will  be  more  likely 
to  remember  tunes  than  sermons ;  a  mechanic  will  remember 
the  form  and  operation  .of  machines,  better  than  any  written 
description  of  them.  The  painter  will  recollect  the  color  of  a 
dress,  and  the  dress-maker  the  fashion  or  cut  of  it.  An  angry 
person  will  remember  an  affront,  and  a  benevolent  person  will 
never  forget  a  kindness.  Shall  a  man  who  remembers  words 
most  easily,  say  to  any  of  these,  you  have  no  memory  ?  or 
shall  he  take  airs  because  he  can  remember  words,  when  they 
are  so  fortunate  that  they  can  remember  only  things  ? 

One  thing  is  certain,  the  memory  of  words  is  no  criterion 

of  intellectual  power.     Some  of  the  greatest  talkers  have  been 

the  shallowest  logicians,  and  some  of  the  greatest  linguists 

have  been  the  greatest  simpletons.     In  fact,  the  memory  of 

11 


122  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

one  class  of  facts  is  no  pledge  for  the  memory  of  any  other, 
and  few  persons  have  ever  been  distinguished  in  every  depart- 
ment of  memory.  But  we  are  told  that  this  committing  to 
memory  strengthens  the  mind  and  leads  to  a  habit  of  applica- 
tion. So  it  does.  It  does  strengthen  this  particular  faculty, 
it  does  lead  to  a  habit  of  application,  but  only  to  words,  con- 
sidered as  words,  and  not  as  embodying  ideas.  Let  me  not 
be  misunderstood.  I  am  not  contending  that  a  great  verbal 
memory,  and  great  general  scholarship,  great  practical  knowl- 
edge, are  incompatible,  but  only  that  one  branch  of  memory, 
like  the  high  priest's  rod,  has  swallowed  up  other  branches  as 
large  as  itself,  and  is  likely  to  die  of  repletion. 

Remarkable  verbal  memories  are  almost  the  only  ones  that 
have  been  recorded,  and  yet  every  one  can  recollect  remarkable 
memories  of  other  faculties.  I  spent  much  time  with  Zerah 
Colburn  before  he  went  to  Europe.  He  was  then  about  five 
years  old,  and  could  neither  read  nor  write.  His  manners 
were  so  rude  that  he  knew  not  the  use  of  a  knife  and  fork, 
and  when  placed  at  table,  he  stabbed  a  large  sausage,  and 
holding  it  impaled  on  his  fork,  he  placed  both  elbows  on  the 
table,  and  nibbled  alternately  at  the  ends  until  the  sausage 
disappeared.  And  yet  this  untutored  child  performed  calcula- 
tions which  involved  so  many  figures,  that  I  could  not  have 
repeated  them  from  memory  after  a  week's  application,  but  he 
made  the  calculation,  and  gave  the. answer  in  a  few  seconds. 
When  he  was  exhibited  in  London,  he  was  allowed  to  over- 
work this  faculty,  and  it  was  destroyed,  as  the  verbal  memory 
usually  is,  by  the  excessive  exercise  of  it. 

How  common  it  is  to  hear  a  teacher  complain  that  his  pupil 
will  not  attend,  has  not  the  faculty  of  attention.  But  children 
are  never  destitute  of  attention.  The  reason  they  do  not 
attend  to  the  lesson  in  hand  is,  that  they  are  attending  to 
something  else.  Attention,  like  memory,  is  an  attribute  of 
every  faculty,  and  it  is  only  where  there  is  no  desire  that  there 
is  no  attention.  A  stupid  boy  may  forget  his  lesson,  but  he 
will  not  forget  his  dinner,  and  the  same  operation  that  puts 
one  man  into  an  ecstasy,  puts  his  neighbor  to  sleep.  Children, 
at  school,  usually  prefer  one  study  to  another ;  what  they  like 
they  attend  to,  and  what  they  do  not  like  —  and  this  is  what 
they  have  the  least  capacity  for — they  disregard.  Now,  I  con- 
ceive the  greatest,  the  highest  effort  of  teaching  to  consist  in 
so  clothing  useful  subjects  with  interest,  that  those  who  may 
not  love  them  are  still  induced  to  attend  to  them.  This 


MEMORY.  123 

exercises  the  weaker  faculties,  and  increases  their  ability.  As 
the  hand  or  foot  acquires  strength  and  skill  by  judicious  exer- 
cise, so  does  every  faculty  of  the  mind ;  and  as  the  muscles 
lose  their  power  and  skill  by  inaction,  so  does  every  organ  of 
the  brain.  If  a  child  is  malicious  and  quarrelsome,  vindictive 
and  passionate,  you  have  only  to  give  him  cause  and  opportu- 
nity for  the  display  of  his  malevolence,  to  increase  its  power. 
But  place  this  child  where  his  passions  will  not  be  excited, 
treat  him  with  unvaried  kindness,  cultivate  his  reason  and  his 
moral  sentiments,  encourage  him  to  acts  of  benevolence,  and  _ 
set  him  an  example,  and  in  time  his  lower  propensities  will 
become  less  active  and  less  powerful,  if  not  entirely  subdued. 
I  do  not  pretend  that  all  evil  dispositions  can  be  made  good 
ones,  nor  that  all  memories  can  be  made  equal,  for  I  know 
that  there  are  original  and  irreconcilable  differences;  but  I 
also  know  that  the  worst  disposition  and  the  weakest  memory 
may  be  greatly  improved. 

After  the  view  which  I  have  taken  of  memory,  it  may 
reasonably  be  expected  that  I  should  endeavor  to  show  how 
education  should  be  conducted  if  the  view  be  correct,  and  it 
be  important  to  improve  the  whole  mind,  and  not  merely  a 
portion  of  it.  May  I  be  excused,  then,  if  in  doing  this  I  speak 
in  the  first  person,  for  it  is  in  this  person  that  I  have  taught 
for  twenty  years,- — and  ought  I  not  to  add,  that  when  I  declare 
what  may  be  done,  I  only  describe  what  has  actually  been 
done  ? 

As  it  is  certain,  then,  that  the  intellect  of  a  child  under  five 
or  six  years  of  age  is  immature,  I  should  pay  less  attention  to 
that  than  to  the  senses,  on  whose  power  and  correct  percep- 
tions so  much  of  the  future  intellectual  progress  depends. 
Most  children  are  very  observant  of  the  ten  thousand  objects 
of  nature  and  art  that  surround  them,  but  they  are  generally 
left  "  to  find  out  by  their  learning,"  that  is,  to  find  out  without 
instruction,  the  qualities  and  peculiarities  of  what  they  see. 
The  senses  are  allowed  to  take  care  of  themselves,  as  if  they 
could  not  go  wrong,  could  not  acquire  bad  habits,  and  must 
come  out  right  at  last.  It  would  lead  me  too  far  if  I  should 
follow  out  this  idea,  but  I  have  alluded  to  it  that  your  own 
minds  may  do  so.  This  early  cultivation  of  the  senses  is  a 
delightful  exercise  to  children ;  and  clothing,  as  it  does,  all 
the  objects  around  them,  with  interest,  instead  of  promoting 
sensuality,  the  surest  basis  is  laid  for  intellectual  and  moral 
progress.  Conversation,  then,  with  children,  about  common 


124  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

things,  their  form,  size,  color,  number,  order,  feel,  smell,  taste, 
sound,  &c.,  next  after  the  fear  of  God,  is  the  true  beginning 
of  wisdom. 

I  should  allow  the  little  ones  as  much  liberty  as  is  consis- 
tent with  tolerable  order.  I  should  give  them  little  or  nothing 
to  commit  to  memory,  and  make  their  exercises  light,  and  vary 
them  often.  I  should  not  be  distressed  if  they  did  not  know 
their  letters  in  six  months  or  six  years,  for  they  can  be  taught 
ten  thousand  things  more  important ;  kindness,  obedience, 
reverence,  truth  and  justice,  will  do  them  far  more  good  than 
the  alphabet.  If  I  see  any  evil  propensity  displaying  itself, 
if  I  cannot  demonstrate  the  impropriety  of  it,  I  shall  not  punish 
until  I  have  exhausted  every  means  of  preventing  its  indul- 
gence. Prevention  is  the  great  principle ;  for  to  my  mind 
nothing  is  more  unwise  and  unjust  than  the  laws  which  regu- 
late even  the  best  Christian  communities.  We  allow  the 
young  to  run  unmolested  until  they  break  the  law,  and  then 
we  punish  them.  If  a  boy  discovers  ever  so  vicious  a  pro- 
pensity, and  we  are  sure  that  crime  must  be  the  consequence^, 
we  cannot  touch  him  until  it  is  too  late ;  we  cannot  restrain 
him ;  it  is  against  the  law  to  save  him. 

If  the  little  child  shows  an  uncommon  aptness  for  one  thing 
more  than  another,  I  never  allow  the  predominant  faculty  to 
be  overworked,  but  I  turn  my  chief  attention  to  the  weaker 
faculties  that  need  encouragement.  What  is  generally  called 
genius  and  talent  is  only  the  predominance  of  one  faculty 
over  the  rest.  This  must  be  carefully  educated,  but  the  others 
must  be  well  attended  to,  also,  or  we  shall  see  another  example 
of  genius  without  a  well-balanced  mind ;  wonderful  talent 
without  common  sense  ;  genius  that  can  create  other  worlds  at 
pleasure,  without  being  able  to  get  a  decent  living  in  this. 
The  merry  little  being  learns  to  talk,  to  sing,  to  think  —  little 
thoughts,  of  course  —  to  draw,  to  count,  —  anything  but  her 
money — to  play,  dance,  and  be  happy,  and  to  make  others  so. 

But  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  child  will  desire  to  read ; 
and,  perhaps,  of  late,  no  question  has  exercised  the  minds  of 
teachers  so  much  as  how  the  first  lessons  in  reading  shall  be 
given.  With  the  old  plan  of  teaching  the  names  of  the  letters 
first,  and  then  their  various  powers,  you  are  acquainted  ;  the 
new  method,  which  has  found  friends  in  the  highest  rank  of 
teachers,  proposes  the  teaching  of  whole  words  first,  with- 
out regard  to  the  elements  of  which  the  words  are  composed. 


MEMORY.  125 

Of  course,  the  learning  of  one  word  is  no  help  to  the  pronun- 
ciation of  a  new  word  ;  at  least,  I  have  never  seen  words 
placed  in  any  book  on  this  plan,  so  that  the  first  words  learned 
are  a  key  or  help  to  those  which  follow. 

I  do  not  deny  that  a  child  may  learn  to  read  a  few  words 
in  this  way  sooner  than  he  will  if  he  waits  to  become 
acquainted,  with  the  letters,  but  I  have  always  found  that 
pupils  who  are  allowed  to  skip  the  elements  of  any  art  or 
science,  and  revel  in  its  pleasant  things,  are  never  willing 
afterwards  to  go  back  to  those  elements,  which,  though 
omitted  at  first,  must  be  learned  some  time  or  other.  Now, 
as  no  one  pretends  that  the  names  of  the  letters  and  their 
powers  need  never  be  learned ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  they 
all  recommend  this,  at  a  later  stage  of  the  business,  the  ques- 
tion seems  to  be  whether,  in  the  end,  the  new  method  does 
not  cause  a  loss  of  time  and  an  increase  of  labor. 

But  we  are  told  the  new  plan  is  more  pleasant  to  the  child ; 
he  prefers  words  with  meaning,  to  letters  and  syllables  with- 
out. I  think,  however,  that  this  objection  to  the  old  plan 
relies  for  its  force  entirely  upon  the  defective  manner  in  which 
the  alphabet  has  usually  been  taught.  If  it  be  important  to 
connect  ideas  with  letters,  I  would  engage  to  connect  as  many 
with  a  letter  as  with  any  word.  It  would  be  difficult  to  illus- 
trate this  position  better  than  by  reading  a  short  extract  from 
a  work  called  "  The  Youth  of  Shakspeare,"  which,  in  the 
quaint  style  of  that  day,  "  runneth  of  this  wise." 

"  Mother,"  said  young  Shakspeare,  "  I  pray  you  tell  me 
something  of  the  fairies  of  whom  nurse  Cicely  discourseth  to 
me  so  oft.  How  may  little  children  be  possessed  of  such 
goodness  as  may  make  them  be  well  regarded  of  these  same 
fairies,  mother  ?"  "  They  must  be  sure  to  learn  their  letters 
betimes,"  replied  she,  "  that  they  may  be  able  to  know  the 
proper  knowledge  writ  in  books,  which,  if  they  know  not 
when  they  grow  up,  neither  fairy  nor  any  other  shall  esteem 
them  to  be  of  any  goodness  whatsoever."  "  I  warrant  you  I 
will  learn  my  letters  as  speedily  as  I  can,"  replied  the  boy, 
eagerly.  "  Nay,  I  beseech  you,  mother,  teach  them  to  me 
now,  for  I  am  exceeding  desirous  of  being  thought  of  some 
goodness.  But  what  good  are  these  same  letters  of,  mother?" 
inquired  he,  as  he  took  his  hornbook  from  the  shelf.  "  This 
much,"  replied  Dame  Shakspeare  ;  "  by  knowing  of  them 
thoroughly,  one  by  one,  you  shall  soon  come  to  be  able  to 
put  them  together  for  the  forming  of  words ;  and  when  you 


126  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

are  sufficiently  apt  at  that,  you  shall  thereby  come  to  De 
learned  enough  to  read  all  such  words  as  are  in  any  sentence, 
which  you  shall  find  to  be  only  made  up  of  such ;  and  when 
the  reading  of  such  sentences  shall  be  familiar  to  you,  doubt 
not  your  ability  to  master  whatsoever  proper  book  falleth  into 
your  hand,  for  all  books  are  composed  only  of  letters,  as  I 
shall  teach  thee  straightway."  The  lesson  had  not  proceeded 
far,  when  the  draper's  wife  came  in.  "  And  what  hast  got 
here,  prithee,  that  thou  art  so  earnest  about?"  asked  Mrs. 
Dowlass.  "  A  hornbook,  as  I  live  !  And  dost  really  know 
thy  letters  at  so  early  an  age  ? "  "  Nay,  I  doubt  I  can  tell 
you  them  all"  replied  Master  William,  ingenuously,  "  but, 
methinks,  I  know  a  good  many  of  them."  Then  pointing  at 
the  several  characters,  as  he  named  them,  he  continued : 
"  First,  here  is  A,  that  ever  standeth  astraddle.  Next  him  is 
B,  who  is  all  head  and  body  and  no  legs.  Then  cometh  C, 
who  bulgeth  out  behind  like  a  very  hunchback.  After  him 
cometh  D,  who  doeth  the  clean  contrary,  for  his  bigness  is  all 
before.  Next,"  —  here  he  hesitated  for  some  few  seconds, 
the  others  present  regarding  him  with  exceeding  attentiveness 
and  pleasure  —  "next,  here  is — alack,  dear  mother,  do  tell 
me  that  fellow's  name  again,  will  you,  an'  it  will  go  hard 
with  him  if  he  escape  me." 

Think  you  that  a  child  taught  the  alphabet  in  this  or  any 
similar  way,  would  ever  be  tired  of  his  lesson  ? 

But  let  us  suppose  the  child  has  passed  the  threshold,  what 
shall  he  read  ?  Not,  surely,  such  books  as  are  levelled  down 
to  his  intellect,  for  these  will  keep  the  intellect  down.  It  is 
better  to  give  him  books  that  he  can  understand  when 
explained,  and  this  explanation  it  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to 
give.  I  would  have  the  child  understand  just  enough  to 
enable  him  to  take  an  interest  in  the  book,  but  I  would  have 
it  always  beyond  his  easy  grasp.  Bring  the  book  down  to 
the  child's  capacity,  so  that  he  can  understand  every  word, 
and  every  idea  of  it,  and  he  will  never  wish  to  read  it  a 
second  time,  and  will  make  no  progress  in  ideas  or  in  reading, 
if  he  is  compelled  to  read  it.  If  I  may  compare  great  things 
with  small,  I  will  say  that  the  Creator  does  not  teach  us  to 
read  in  the  book  of  nature  in  any  such  way.  We  are  inter- 
ested in  every  page  that  he  has  spread  before  us,  but  we 
understand  very  little  of  it.  On  the  second  perusal,  we  learn 
something  more ;  and  the  more  times  we  read,  the  better  we 
understand,  though  we  are  sure  we  shall  never  master  the 


MEMORY.  127 

great  volume.  There  is  a  just  medium  in  this  matter,  and  he 
who  consults  the  nature  of  children  will  observe  it.  Chil- 
dren, if  I  know  them,  prefer  to  read  such  books  as  require  not 
only  a  constant  stretch  of  the  understanding,  but  even  of  the 
imagination ;  and  such  are  the  best  for  them,  if  they  are  to  be 
read  more  than  once. 

But  some  utilitarians  would  have  all  reading  books  for 
schools  filled  with  lessons  in  useful  knowledge,  and,  of  course, 
would  exclude  the  greater  part  of  our  best  poetry  and  works 
of  imagination. 

It  is  true  that  much  useful  matter  may  be  introduced  into 
school  books,  and,  other  things  being  equal,  instructive  lessons 
should  be  preferred  ;  but  the  great  object  for  which  reading  is 
taught  in  schools  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  attempt  to 
introduce  a  little  of  all  sorts  of  knowledge,  which  will  never 
make  children  good  philosophers,  and  which  will  assuredly 
prevent  them  from  becoming  good  and  impressive  readers. 
Show  me  a  teacher  who  prefers  to  use  books  on  this  mistaken 
plan,  and  I  will  show  you  one  who  knows  nothing  of  reading 
as  an  art. 

In  teaching  English  grammar,  I  would  require  little  or 
nothing  to  be  learned  by  rote.  If  there  is  any  real  difference 
between  the  parts  of  speech,  the  child  should  be  obliged  to 
think  it  out,  instead  of  seeking  the  information  in  a  dictionary. 
Moreover,  in  teaching  English  grammar,  I  would  be  sure  it 
was  English.  Our  language  is  more  simple  in  its  structure 
than  any  other,  and  I  would  teach  it  in  all  its  simplicity, 
whatever  might  be  the  fashion.  Not  one  child  in  a  thousand 
studies  any  other  language  than  his  own,  and  yet  every  child 
is  obliged  to  learn  grammars  that  were  constructed  on  foreign 
models.  Because  Greek  had  one  article,  two  adjectives  were 
set  apart  from  the  rest  and  called  articles,  that  English  gram- 
mar might  not  appear  to  lack  this  part  of  speech.  As  Latin 
nouns  had  six  cases  distinctly  marked  by  a  different  termina- 
tion, so  English  nouns  must  have  cases,  although  they  undergo 
no  change,  or  only  one  in  the  singular,  which  renders  the 
word  no  longer  the  name  of  a  thing,  —  of  course,  no  longer  a 
noun.  Because  the  Greek  and  Latin,  and  some  modern 
languages,  in  their  various  modes  of  speaking,  vary  the  termi- 
nation of  the  verb,  we  also  must  contrive  to  have  five  modes, 
not  because  we  have  any  change  of  termination,  but  because 
we  ought  to  have  !  Because  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  by  the 
addition  or  change  of  terminations,  counted  forty  or  fifty 


128  THE   TEACHEKS'   INSTITUTE. 

methods  of  expressing  tense  or  time,  we,  who  have  but  one 
such  change  of  termination,  like  the  simple  jackdaw,  are  strut- 
ting about  with  our  borrowed  feathers,  and  pretending  to  be 
classical  peacocks. 

In  teaching  geography,  I  should  require  no  lessons  to  be 
committed  to  memory. 

The  author  of  the  larger  geography  used  in  the  Boston 
schools,  has  told  us  that  it  was  first  published  in  1819,  and, 
after  two  editions,  was  stereotyped,  or  permanently  fixed. 
Soon,  he  adds,  it  was  necessary  to  re-write  it  entirely ;  and 
then,  after  two  editions,  it  was  stereotyped  or  fixed  again ; 
and  he  says  it  may  be  expected  to  remain  as  it  is,  till  a  con- 
siderable change  shall  become  desirable, — that  is,  till  an 
unusually  large  proportion  of  it  is  false.  In  the  mean  time, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
children  are  learning  such  geographies,  with  the  certainty 
that  what  they  learn,  if  remembered,  will  soon  be  of  no  value. 
The  world  will  not  stay  fixed,  as  the  unlucky  book  does,  and 
when  there  is  so  much  certain  and  permanent  knowledge  to 
be  learned,  is  it  not  cruel  to  trifle  with  the  young  mind  thus  ? 
It  is  bad  enough  to  have  to  commit  to  memory  what  is  true, 
but  it  seems  unpardonable  to  oblige  a  child  to  "commit"  what 
is  already  false,  or  avowedly  soon  to  become  so.  Let  it  not  be 
supposed,  however,  that  the  geography  alluded  to  is  singular 
in  this  respect — I  believe  it  is  like  all  others  that  are  popular; 
and  a  late  most  popular  author  solemnly  promises  in  his  pref- 
ace not  to  change  his  book  oftener  than  once  in  five  years, 
right  or  wrong.  It  is  said  of  one  of  the  worthy  governors  of 
New  Amsterdam,  that  because  the  wind  had  a  troublesome 
trick  of  changing,  he  was  accustomed  early  in  the  morning  to 
fix  the  city  weathercock  for  the  day ;  and  in  what  does  his 
conduct  differ  from  that  of  the  author  last  mentioned  ? 

Again,  it  is  generally  conceded  that  the  true  way  to  learn 
geography  is  to  begin  at  home,  and  travel  no  faster  than  we 
get  acquainted;  but,  as  geographies  are  made  to  be  uni- 
versally used,  this  beginning  at  home  is  impracticable.  A 
geography  adapted  to  any  particular  home,  would  not  be 
likely  to  have  an  extensive  sale.  The  utmost  we  may  ask 
then  is,  that  they  shall  give  a  particular  account  of  our  own 
state.  Well,  how  far  have  they  done  this  ?  Mitchell, 
out  of  336  pages,  allows  the  empire  state  but  4,  and  these 
include  3  pictures  that  were  not  executed  by  Raphael  or 
Benjamin  West.  Ohiey's  geography  allows  your  great  state 


MEMORY.  129 

4  pages  out  of  288,  and  these  4  include  3  engravings,  not  by 
the  same  great  masters.  Smith  allows  you  4  pages  out  of 
312,  and  he  can  only  afford  1  engraving.  Woodbridge,  in  his 
new  edition,  thinks  that  2  pages  out  of  352,  with  1  picture, 
are  enough  for  New  York ;  and  the  other  authors  are  no 
more  liberal.  Poor  Massachusetts  is  allowed  room  in  propor- 
tion to  her  size ;  and  yet  these  books  furnish  all  the  knowledge 
that  our  children  are  required  to  learn  of  their  respective 
states. 

If  you  wished  to  learn  the  geography  of  a  town  instead  of  a 
world,  how  would  you  proceed  ?  Would  you  go  to  one 
farmer  and  ascertain  whether  he  raised  wheat  or  oats  ?  to 
another  to  know  how  many  men  he  employed  ?  how  many 
pigs  he  raised,  or  how  his  potatoes  yielded  ?  Would  you 
visit  the  schools  to  see  how  many  children  attended?  how 
many  pupils  there  were  of  each  sex,  and  how  many  teachers  ? 
what  school  books  were  used  and  what  abused  ?  and  whether 
they  were  purchased  because  they  were  cheap,  or  because  they 
were  good  ?  Would  you  visit  the  several  clergymen  and 
ascertain  how  many  sects  there  were,  and  how  many  of  each 
sect  ?  which  expended  the  most  money,  and  which  had  the 
most  virtue  to  show  for  it  ?  No,  indeed  ;  you  would  know 
that  these  things  have  nothing  to  do  with  geography.  You 
would  walk  round  the  boundaries  of  the  town,  and  see  how 
other  towns  bordered  upon  it.  You  would  travel  every  road 
and  learn  where  it  led  to ;  you  would  visit  every  pond  and 
every  hill,  and  sail  down  every  stream  ;  you  would  learn  the 
locality  of  every  church,  of  every  school-house,  and  every 
other  public  building ;  you  would  learn  the  limits  of  every 
school  district ;  the  remarkable  caves  or  rocks ;  the  quarries, 
and  every  thing  that  could  be  considered  permanent ;  you 
would  draw  a  plan  of  the  town,  till  you  were  familiar  with 
every  part  of  it. 

Then,  if  you  wished  to  learn  the  history  of  the  town,  you 
would  have  some  lines  to  go  by,  some  points  to  measure  from. 
You  could  lay  out  the  farms  of  the  first  settlers,  and  cut  them 
up  as  their  descendants  did  ;  you  could  plan  new  roads  and 
future  improvements,  and  your  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
unchangeable  features  of  the  town  would  never  cease  to  be  of 
service.  Statistical  tables  are  valuable  to  the  political  econo- 
mist, to  the  historian  and  antiquarian,  and  such  may  prepare 
and  preserve  them  for  reference  ;  but  what  would  they  think 
if  asked  to  learn  such  tables  by  heart  ?  We  cannot  travel 


130  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

over  the  world  as  we  may  over  a  town,  but  we  may  travel 
over  maps  till  the  face  of  the  globe  is  familiar,  the  great 
natural  features,  those  characters  which  the  Creator  has 
engraved  on  the  everlasting  rocks,  and  not  what  transient 
man  has  scratched  upon  the  shifting  sand. 

The  celebrated  Rousseau  ridicules  the  custom  of  teaching 
history  to  children,  and  he  relates  an  amusing  anecdote,  which 
shows  that  history  was  taught  in  his  day  very  much  as  it  has 
been  since.  He  was  spending  a  few  days  in  the  country,  and 
a  fond  mother  invited  him  to  be  present  at  a  lesson  in  ancient 
history  about  to  be  given  to  her  son.  The  lesson  related  to 
that  event  of  Alexander's  life,  when,  being  dangerously  sick, 
he  received  a  letter  informing  him  that  his  physician  intended 
to  poison  him,  under  pretence  of  giving  him  medicine.  Alex- 
ander handed  the  letter  to  the  physician,  and  while  he  was 
reading  it,  drank  off  the  medicine  at  one  draught.  At  dinner, 
the  conversation  turned  upon  the  lesson,  and  the  young  his- 
torian expressed  so  much  admiration  at  the  courage  of  Alex- 
ander, that  Rousseau  took  him  aside  and  asked  him  in  what 
the  wonderful  courage  consisted.  Why,  said  he,  in  swallow- 
ing such  a  nasty  dose  of  physic  at  one  draught.  His  kind 
mother  had  dosed  him  almost  to  death,  and  he  hated  all  medi- 
cine like  poison.  Still,  the  history  was  not  lost  upon  the 
child,  though  it  was  misunderstood,  for  he  determined  that  the 
next  medicine  he  had  to  take,  he  would  imitate  Alexander. 
"  If  it  be  asked,"  adds  Rousseau,  "  what  I  see  to  admire  in 
that  act  of  Alexander,  I  answer,  that  I  see  in  it  the  proof  that 
the  hero  believed  in  the  existence  of  human  virtue,  and  that 
he  was  willing  to  stake  his  life  upon  his  belief.  The  swal- 
lowing of  the  medicine  was  a  profession  of  his  faith,  and  no 
mortal  ever  made  one  more  sublime." 

History,  as  taught  in  schools,  should  be  a  practical  applica- 
tion of  geography.  My  method  of  teaching  it,  was  to  read 
the  history  to  the  class,  explaining  every  word,  and  illus- 
trating every  sentiment,  as  far  as  possible,  by  maps,  books, 
engravings,  medals,  relics,  and  conversation.  Then  I  required 
the  pupils  to  read  the  lesson  for  themselves,  and  be  prepared 
to  answer  such  questions  as  I  might  propose.  I  never  taught 
ancient  geography  except  in  connection  with  history,  and 
never  without  a  constant  comparison  of  ancient  geography 
with  modern.  In  this  way  there  is  hardly  any  branch  of 
human  knowledge  that  wHimot  brought  to  the  aid  of  history, 
and  in  return  illustrated  by  it.  But,  set  a  child  to  learning 


MEMORY.  131 

the  compend  by  heart,  or  only  so  much  as  will  serve  for  an 
answer  to  certain  set  questions,  printed  and  adapted  to  the 
very  words  of  the  answer,  and  what  does  the  child  acquire 
but  a  distaste  for  what  is  only  a  dead  letter,  and  a  love  for 
tales  and  romances,  and  that  trashy  reading  which  is  too  well 
understood,  and  whose  spirit,  as  well  as  letter,  killeth  too  often 
both  body  and  soul  ? 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  would  you  not  cultivate  the  memory 
of  words  at  all.  I  answer  that  the  ordinary  intercourse  of 
society  will  do  much  towards  educating  this  memory,  but 
there  is  one  school  exercise,  which,  when  not  perverted,  is 
peculiarly  fitted  for  this  purpose  ;  I  mean  spelling,  although 
spelling,  if  properly  taught,  is  not  merely  the  learning  of 
words,  but  the  expression  of  sounds,  and  the  acquisition  of  a 
correct  pronunciation,  which  is  rarely  acquired  in  any  other 
way.  Perhaps  no  one  branch  taught  in  our  common  schools 
has  been  so  badly  taught  as  this,  and  in  no  department  is 
there  such  a  general  complaint  of  deficiency,  and  such  a  loud 
cry  for  reform.  Whence  is  this  ?  Certainly  not  because  cor- 
rect spelling  is  not  universally  considered  indispensable  to  a 
good  education,  certainly  not  because  there  is  any  dearth  of 
spelling  books.  Will  you  bear  with  me  a  few  minutes  longer, 
while  I  endeavor  to  explain  the  cause  of  the  deficiency  which 
is  so  notorious  ? 

First,  then,  spelling  has  been  treated  as  an  inferior  branch, 
in  which  to  exercise  a  pupil  was  to  degrade  him.  Hence  the 
higher  classes  have  generally  been  excused  from  spelling,  or 
have  only  spelled  occasionally,  without  having  regular  and  set 
lessons.  Now,  spelling  must  be  taught  at  school,  or  the 
chance  is  a  thousand  to  one  that  the  adult  will  never  make  up 
for  the  neglect.  The  reason  of  this  is,  not  so  much  the 
incapability  of  adults  to  learn,  as  their  unwillingness  to  come 
down  to  the  only  effectual  way  of  learning,  that  is,  by  lessons 
from  the  spelling  book.  It  must  be  this,  for  adults  read  the 
words  constantly,  write  them  frequently,  and  understand  and 
use  them  better  than  children  do  ;  and  yet  they  seldom  cor- 
rect words  that  they  have  been  accustomed  to  misspell.  The 
reason  uniformly  given  by-  adults,  who  continue  to  spell  ill,  is, 
they  were  not  properly  drilled  when  young. 

The  second  reason  why  spelling  has  retrograded  in  our 
schools,  has  been  the  pretended  improvement  of  spelling 
books.  Thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  little  or  no  regard  was 
paid  to  pronunciation  ;  and  any  person  who  chewed  his  words 


132  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

was  laughed  at  as  a  flat,  or  sneered  at  as  a  pedant.  About  that 
time  Walker's  Dictionary  was  reprinted  in  this  country,  and 
spelling  books  began  to  be  made  on  his  plan.  The  test  of 
gentility,  thenceforth,  was  pronunciation,  and  not  orthography. 
Figures  and  other  marks  were  introduced  into  spelling  books, 
and  relying  upon  these,  the  classification  of  words  began  to 
be  neglected,  until  it  was  almost  disregarded,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  learning  to  spell  was  increased  just  in  proportion  to 
this  neglect.  Who  needs  an  argument  to  show  that  a  proper 
classification  facilitates  the  learning  of  every  art  and  science, 
and  that  on  the  association  thus  produced,  the  memory  in  a 
great  degree  depends  for  its  power  ?  The  great  desideratum 
of  a  spelling  book  is  that  it  shall  be  choice,  but  sufficiently 
comprehensive  in  its  vocabulary,  simple,  but  exact  and 
thorough  in  its  classification  ;  and  that  it  shall  teach  the  true 
pronunciation  without  appearing  to  do  so,  and  without  draw- 
ing off  the  pupil's  attention  from  the  naked  word. 

The  third  reason  for  the  decline  of  spelling  was  the  intro- 
duction of  definition  spelling  books,  and  the  custom  of  giving 
spelling  lessons  from  dictionaries.  If  attention  to  the  marks 
and  figures  that  indicated  the  pronunciation,  took  off  the 
scholar's  attention  from  the  orthography,  much  more  so  did 
the  affixing  of  a  definition.  The  definition  became  every 
thing,  and  the  orthography  only  a  secondary  object.  The 
vocabulary  of  a  definition  spelling  book  was  so  curtailed  from 
necessity,  that  it  was  altogether  insufficient  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  orthography,  and  the  words  of  a  dictionary  are  so 
numerous  that  it  is  the  labor  of  a  life,  a  school  life,  to  spell 
it  through  once.  You  see  the  consequence ;  in  the  definition 
spelling  books,  many  common  and  useful  words  were  omitted, 
and  the  attention  was  distracted  between  those  that  were  left 
and  their  definitions ;  while  the  length  of  time  required  to  go 
through  a  dictionary,  rendered  a  familiar  acquaintance  with 
the  definition  or  the  orthography  absolutely  impossible.  And 
had  the  definition  been  retained,  what  would  it  have  been 
worth?  Common 'words  are  generally  mystified  by  a  defi- 
nition, and  seldom  explained.  The  other  day,  in  preparing  a 
new  work  to  oblige  children  to  write  the  words  of  their  spell- 
ing books,  I  wanted  a  simple  definition  ofa.jlounce  and  of  a 
periwig,  both  common  things,  and  well  understood.  I  turned 
to  the  most  popular,  and  really  the  best  school  dictionary,  and 
found  the  definition  as  follows  : 

Periwig.     Adscititious  hair. 


MEMORY.  133 

Flounce.  A  loose,  full  trimming,  sewed  to  a  woman's 
garment  so  as  to  swell  and  shake. 

1  then  asked  an  intelligent  child  what  sort  of  hair  he  thought 
"  adscititious  hair"  was.  —  "I  don't  know,"  said  he.  "  Is  it 
hair  that  is  all  in  a  snarl?"  —  I  then  asked  an  intelligent  girl 
what  she  should  call  "a  loose,  full  trimming  sewed  to  a 
woman's  garment  so  as  to  swell  and  shake,"  and  she  said  at 
once,  "  an  April  fool." 

So  much  for  the  definition  of  easy  words.  I  then  had  occa- 
sion to  look  out  the  word  Imbricated,  and  found  that  it  meant 
"  Indented  with  concavities."  I  asked  a  miss  who  was  read- 
ing, the  meaning  of  the  word  anodyne,  and  she  looked  in  the 
dictionary,  and  mistaking  the  a  which  denoted  that  the  word 
was  an  adjective,  for  a  part  of  the  definition,  she  said  anodyne 
meant,  "  a  mitigating  pain." 

If  the  memory  is  treacherous,  the  definition  will  soon 
escape,  almost  as  soon  as  it  is  learned,  or  it  may  be  applied  to 
the  wrong  word.  When  a  class  of  young  misses  was  once 
reading  to  me,  the  word  wedlock  occurred,  and,  as  usual,  I 
asked  the  meaning  of  it.  "  I  know,"  said  a  lively  little  girl, 
who  had  "  studied  dictionary,"  as  she  called  it,  at  another 
school;  "  it  is  something  they  fasten  barn-doors  with."* 

I  believe  this  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  aid  that  children  get 
from  definitions  obtained  in  dictionaries ;  for,  as  I  have  said, 
if  the  words  are  common,  no  definition  is  needed,  and  a  large 
proportion  are  of  this  description ;  and  if  the  words  are  not 
common,  the  definition  will  not  be  understood,  or  will  be 
immediately  forgotten. 

The  fourth  cause  of  the  decline  of  spelling,  is  the  attempt 
to  teach  spelling  from  reading  lessons.  I  have  already  hinted 
that  the  true  place  to  teach  a  child  the  meaning  of  a  word  is 
not  in  the  dictionary,  where  it  may  have  a  dozen  meanings 
apparently  contradictory  or  perfectly  unintelligible,  but  in  the 
reading  lesson,  where  the  word  is  used,  and  where  its  very 
use  often  defines  it.  The  faithful  teacher  will  never  miss 
this  opportunity  to  explain  words,  not  only  because  the 
interest  and  the  intelligent  reading  of  the  particular  lesson 
depend  upon  it,  but  because  he  will  never,  in  any  other 
department  of  instruction,  have  so  good  a  chance  to  teach  the 
correct  meaning  and  use  of  words.  But  this  is  a  very 

*  As  I  have  seen  this  anecdote  elsewhere,  and  may  be  suspected  of  appro- 
priating what  is  not  my  own,  it  may  be  proper  for  me  to  say  that  it  was  first 
published  in  one  of  my  Reports,  many  years  ago. 
12     ^ 


134  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

different  exercise  from  spelling;  and  just  so  far  as  it  is 
excellent  for  teaching  the  meaning  and  use  of  words,  it  is 
unfitted  to  teach  spelling ;  for,  if  it  be  true  that  the  affixing  of 
a  definition  diverts  the  attention  from  the  orthography,  it  is 
evident  that  the  sentiment,  and  the  interest  of  the  narrative, 
will  do  so  in  a  greater  degree.  Every  scholar  knows  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  printing  correctly  ;  but  this  does  not  arise 
from  the  ignorance  of  the  author  or  the  printer,  but  from  the 
constant  tendency  of  the  sentiment  or  thought  to  divert  the 
attention  of  the  proof-reader,  whether  author  or  printer,  from 
the  structure  of  the  words  themselves ;  and  hence  their  custom 
of  spelling  the  words  instead  of  pronouncing  them,  or  the 
reading  of  sentences  backwards,  to  destroy  the  sense  and  fix 
the  attention  upon  the  naked  words. 

But  spelling  from  reading  books  is  attended  with  another 
serious  disadvantage.  The  number  of  words  spelled  will  not 
be  extensive,  and  many  words  in  common  use  will,  perhaps, 
never  occur  at  all.  Besides,  those  that  do  occur,  occur  in 
utter  confusion  ;  and,  for  this  reason,  neither  teacher  nor  pupil 
can  ever  know  how  many  words  he  has  learned,  nor  of  how 
many  he  is  ignorant.  The  presumption  is,  that  the  words  of 
a  spelling  book  include  all  that  will  occur  in  useful,  but  not 
strictly  scientific  books,  and  in  profitable  conversation;  and 
these  will  be  spelled  and  written  over  and  over,  until  they 
become  familiar  ;  and  when  teachers  will  go  back  to  this  old 
plan  of  using  the  spelling  book,  and  not  till  then,  will  they  be 
able,  in  my  opinion,  to  remedy  the  defect  which  all  acknowl- 
edge to  exist.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  spelling  is  not  worth 
the  trouble  of  acquisition,  for  I  think  no  one  will  deny  that 
spelling  is  like  charity  in  one  remarkable  respect ;  for  a  man 
may  understand  all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge,  and  yet, 
without  correct  spelling,  —  be  nothing. 

If  I  did  not  believe  that  the  prevalent  mode  of  committing 
books  to  memory  was  cruel  as  well  as  incorrect,  I  should  not 
be  so  anxious  for  the  reform.  The  custom  has  been,  and  now 
is,  for  the  teacher  to  set  a  lesson  to  be  learned  at  home,  and 
it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  the  parents  have  the  hardest 
part  of  the  work  to  do,  for  they  have  to  direct  the  child,  to 
encourage  him  in  the  disagreeable  task,  and  then  nurse  him 
in  the  sickness  that  follows  constant  study  when  he  should  be 
taking  exercise.  I  wonder  that  parents  have  not  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  they  may  as  well  set  the  lesson  as  teach  it,  and 
so  have  the  credit  of  it.  Who  does  not  know  that  nineteen- 


MEMORY.  135 

twentieths  at  least  of  every  lesson  committed  to  memory,  are 
immediately  forgotten  ?  I  should  as  soon  think  of  employing 
a  child  to  bring  me  water  in  a  basket,  as  to  learn  lessons  by 
rote.  What  would  you  think  of  a  farmer,  who,  instead  of 
taking  his  boy  into  the  field,  should  send  him  to  a  school, 
where  he  would  be  required  to  commit  an  agricultural  cate- 
chism to  memory? 

It  would  not  require  much  shrewdness  in  the  farmer  to 
guess  what  would  be  the  result  of  this  sort  of  education.  He 
would  instantly  reject  it,  and  the  next  morning,  perhaps,  send 
his  child  to  school  to  be  taught  geography,  or  natural  philos- 
ophy, in  the  same  irrational  manner ! 

Some  years  ago,  I  wrote  a  dialogue*  for  the  amusement 
of  my  pupils,  and  as  it  not  only  exhibits  the  folly  now  under 
consideration,  but  also  the  kindred  folly  of  crowding  a  little  of 
every  thing  into  the  young  mind,  with  your  permission,  I  will 
read  a  page  of  it. 

A  mother  in  search  of  a  school  for  her  child,  accosted  a 
young  teacher  as  follows : 

Mother.  Are  you  the  mistress  of  this  school,  miss  ? 

Teacher.  I  am,  madam. 

M.  Your  school  has  been  highly  recommended  to  me,  and 
I  have  concluded  to  place  my  only  daughter  under  your  care, 
if  we  can  agree  upon  the  subject  of  her  studies.  Pray  what 
do  you  teach  ? 

T.  What  is  usually  taught  in  preparatory  schools,  madam. 
How  old  is  your  little  girl  ? 

M.  She  is  only  five,  but  then  she  is  a  child  of  remar-kable 
capacity. 

T.  I  should  not  think  she  studied  many  branches  at  present, 
madam,  whatever  she  may  do  hereafter. 

M.  Indeed,  she  is  not  so  backward  as  you  imagine.  She 
has  studied  astronomy,  botany  and  geometry,  and  her  teacher 
was  preparing  to  put  her  into  Latin,  when  ill  health  obliged 
her  to  relinquish  her  school. 

T.  Have  you  ever  examined  her  in  these  sciences,  madam  ? 

M.  0  yes,  indeed.  Fraxinella,  my  dear,  tell  the  lady 
something  of  geometry  and  astronomy.  What  is  astronomy, 
my  dear?  Ask  her  a  question,  miss,  any  question  you 
please. 

T.  What  planet  do  we  inhabit,  my  dear  ? 

*  Since  published  in  the  "  Familiar  Dialogues  "  of  the  author. 


136  THE   TEACHEBS'   INSTITUTE. 

C.  Hey? 

T.  What  do  you  live  on,  my  dear  ? 

C.  On  meat,  ma'am ;  I  did  not  know  what  you  meant 
before. 

M.  No,  my  dear,  the  lady  wishes  to  know  what  you  stand 
on  now  ;  on  what  do  you  stand  ? 

C.  On  my  feet,  mother  ;  did  she  think  I  stood  on  my  head  ? 

M.  Fraxinella !  dear,  you  have  forgotten  your  astronomy 
the  three  days  you  have  staid  at  home.  But  do  now  say 
a  line  or  two  of  your  last  lesson  to  the  lady ;  now  do,  dear, 
that's  a  darling. 

C.  The  equinoctial  line  is  the  plane  of  the  equator  extended 
in  a  straight  line  until  it  surrounds  the  calyx  or  flower-cup, 
for  the  two  sides  of  an  isuckle  triangle  are  always  equal  to  the 
hippopotamus. 

M.  There,  miss;  I  told  you  she  had  it  in  her,  only  it 
requires  a  peculiar  tact  to  draw  it  out.  I  knew  she  would 
astonish  you. 

T.  She  does,  indeed,  madam.  You  speak  of  the  plane  of 
the  equator,  my  dear ;  will  you  be  good  enough  to  tell  me  the 
meaning  of  the  word  plane  ? 

C.   Ugly,  ma'am ;  I  thought  every  body  knew  that.  . 

T.  How  many  are  three  times  three,  my  dear  ? 

C.  Three  times  three"  ? 

T.  Yes,  how  many  are  they  ? 

C.  I  don't  know.  Mrs.  Flare  never  told  me  that ;  she  said 
every  body  knows  how  to  count ! 

T.  She  taught  you  to  read  and  spell,  I  suppose. 

M.  No,  I  positively  forbade  that.  I  wished  to  have  her 
mind  properly  developed,  without  having  her  intellect  frittered 
away  upon  the  elements.  But  I  see  your  school  will  not  do 
for  my  daughter.  I  was  afraid  you  only  taught  the  lower 
branches.  Come,  Fraxy,  dear,  let  us  call  on  Miss  Flourish ; 
perhaps  she  is  competent  to  estimate  your  acquirements,  and 
finish  your  education. 

I  have  thus,  in  a  very  familiar  way,  endeavored  to  expose 
the  too  prevalent  error  of  attempting  to  cram  all  sorts  of 
knowledge  into  the  mind  through  the  single  avenue  of  the 
verbal  memory,  to  the  neglect  of  all  other  kinds  of  memory, 
of  the  external  senses,  and  of  the  reasoning  powers.  The  first 
great  principle  which  should  guide  us  in  the  education  of 
children  is,  to  teach  only  what  is  necessary  and  proper,  and 


MEMORY.  137 

what  the  child  is  competent  to  understand,  and  the  next  is,  to 
illustrate,  explain,  and  demonstrate  it,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
the  understanding  and  the  senses. 

I  have  given  you  the  result  of  twenty  years'  observation 
and  experience ;  and  whether  I  am  in  error,  or  whether  the 
common  theory  of  memory  and  the  common  system  of  instruc- 
tion are  in  fault,  you,  gentlemen,  must  judge. 
12* 


138 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR. 

IF  any  one  branch  taught  in  our  common  schools  is  very 
badly  taught,  that  branch  is  English  grammar.  Whatever 
may  be  the  textbook  used,  the  object  undoubtedly  ought  to  be, 
to  teach  the  child  to  speak  and  write  correctly  and  with  ease ; 
and,  if  the  teacher  is  competent,  this  object  may  be  attained 
with  any  of  the  popular  textbooks,  or  even  without  any  of 
them. 

Unfortunately,  however,  the  number  of  district  school 
teachers  who  are  skilful  in  the  use  of  language  is  very 
small,  although  many  are  acquainted  with  the  technics  of 
grammar,  and  can  analyze  sentences  made  by  others  with 
tolerable  facility.  To  such,  and  to  all  teachers,  let  me  say, 
that  their  time  will  be  better  spent  if  they  begin  earlier  to 
teach  the  use  of  language,  leaving  the  grammar  to  come  in, 
as  it  originally  came,  after  the  language  has  been  formed. 

To  enable  the  teacher  to  do  this,  he  must  begin  early  with 
the  child,  and  make  every  exercise  bear  upon  this.  In  my 
remarks  on  reading  and  orthography,  I  have  shown  how  a 
beginning  may  be  made,  and  I  shall  endeavor  not  to  repeat 
what  I  have  said. 

I  should  begin  to  teach  English  grammar,  then,  when  I 
begin  to  teach  the  English  language  ;  that  is,  when  I  begin  to 
teach  reading,  spelling  and  talking.  The  mischief  has  been, 
that  children  have  been  allowed  to  read  without  intelligence, 
to  spell  without  any  application  of  the  words,  and  to  talk 
without  care,  although  they  talk  before  they  read,  or  spell,  or 
write  ;  and  being  allowed  to  talk  badly,  the  chief  object  of 
teaching  technical  grammar  afterwards  is,  to  undo  what  has 
been  previously  done,  but  what  should  have  been  avoided.  If 
parents  only  felt  the  importance  of  speaking  correctly,  and 
even  elegantly,  in  the  presence  of  their  children  ;  if  they  paid 
a  hundredth  part  as  much  attention  to  language  as  they  do  to 
dress  and  external  appearance,  we  should  hear  little  of  gram- 
mar, except  as  it  affords  directions  for  foreigners  who  wish  to 
learn  our  idioms,  and  have  not  time  to  do  so  by  practice  in 
writing  and  speaking  it. 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  139 

Unfortunately,  not  one  child  in  a  hundred  is  so  situated 
that  he  is  not  exposed  to  evil  influences  in  this  respect ;  and 
the  time  is  far  distant,  I  fear,  when,  in  the  family  and  in 
society,  the  use  of  language  will  be  so  free  from  error  that  the 
young  will  insensibly  learn  to  speak  correctly,  and  be  so 
familiar  with  good  usage  that  they  will  not  need  to  resort  to 
grammars  to  know  in  what  it  consists.  Several  years  ago,  a 
young  Frenchman,  who  had  been  educated  in  Paris  at  great 
expense,  undertook  to  teach  French  in  Boston.  He  was  an 
excellent  scholar,  and  yet  one  day  he  pointed  to  a  country- 
man of  his  who  passed  us  in  the  street,  and  remarked,  "  That 
man  is  an  upholsterer,  and  has  taken  no  pains  to  perfect  his 
pronunciation,  but  I  would  give  all  I  am  worth  to  be  able  to 
pronounce  French  as  correctly  as  he  does."  "  How  did  he 
arrive  at  such  perfection  ?  "  said  I.  "  He  was  born  at  Tours," 
said  he,  "  where  French  is  more  correctly  spoken  than  in  any 
other  part  of  France,  and  he  speaks  well  from  habit.  I  shall 
never  equal  him."  The  teacher  cannot,  perhaps,  counteract 
entirely  the  evil  influences  of  home,  and  of  intercourse  with 
the  illiterate  and  unrefined,  but  he  may  do  much  by  the  force 
of  his  own  example,  and  by  untiring  vigilance  in  regard  to  the 
faults  of  his  pupils. 

Before  children  are  readers  or  writers,  they  are  often  great 
talkers ;  but  how  rarely  do  we  hear  of  a  teacher's  engaging  in 
conversation  with  such  pupils,  or  indeed  with  his  most 
advanced  pupils ;  and  yet,  what  exercise  could  be  more 
proper  or  more  useful  than  for  the  teacher  to  call  his  little 
class  around  him,  and  converse  freely  and  affectionately  with 
them  upon  the  thousand  subjects  that  interest  their  opening 
minds  ?  Besides  the  exercise  in  grammar  which  such  a  con- 
versation would  afford,  how  completely  might  the  teacher  win 
the  affections  of  the  children,  and  lay  the  basis  of  mild  and  yet 
effective  discipline ;  and  how  easily  could  he  impress  upon 
the  yet  unsullied  heart  the  great  principles  of  conscience, 
morality  and  religion.  Were  I  again  to  undertake  to  teach, 
this  exercise  would  be  one  of  the  first  that  I  should  introduce 
into  every  class  ;  but,  when  I  was  a  teacher,  I  was  blind  as 
my  fellows  in  this  respect,  except  that  I  was  accustomed  to 
converse  with  my  oldest  pupils  on  the  subject  of  their  next 
composition. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  few  teachers  are  fitted  to  con- 
verse with  their  pupils  in  this  manner,  but  this  should  not 
prevent  them  from  making  the  attempt ;  and  I  err  greatly  in 


140  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

my  judgment,  if  they  do  not  soon  find  that  in  this  exercise, 
as  in  philosophy,  action  and  reaction  will  be,  at  the  least, 
equal. 

If  he  cannot  trust  himself  without  a  text,  let  him  take  some 
common  thing, — a  piece  of  money,  for  instance, — and  ask  the 
little  ones  its  uses,  and  such  other  particulars  as  will  lead 
them  to  tell  what  they  know  on  the  subject.  He  may  even 
appoint  the  subject  of  conversation  the  day  beforehand,  and 
let  them  think  upon  it  before  they  come  to  the  class.  I  know 
that  many  teachers  will  say  they  have  no  time  for  such  an 
exercise,  and  I  suppose  they  have  not ;  but  I  think  every  one 
can  make  time  for  it,  by  thus  employing  some  of  the  minutes 
that  are  worse  than  wasted  in  teaching  useless  things,  or  in 
teaching  even  useful  things  in  a  useless  manner. 

I  have  already  shown  how  early  the  child  may  be  taught 
to  write,  and  how  usefully  he  may  be  employed  in  writing 
little  sentences  from  his  books,  from  dictation,  or  from  copies 
set  on  the  ruled  black-board.  Every  sentence  that  the  child 
writes  in  this  way  is  a  lesson  in  grammar,  and  in  the  use  of 
language,  which  is,  or  ought  to  be,  the  only  object  in  learning 
the  grammar  of  one's  own  language. 

When  I  was  at  school,  composition  was  not  taught,  and, 
although  I  received  the  Franklin  medal  for  English  grammar 
especially,  I  am  not  aware  that  I  ever  wrote  a  word  of  compo- 
sition until  I  left  school,  and  I  am  sure  that  I  never  wrote  one 
as  a  school  exercise.  I  entered  what  is  now  called  the  Eliot 
school,  in  Boston,  at  the  early  age  of  six  years,  easily  passing 
for  a  child  of  seven,  because  as  large  as  my  brother,  who 
was  eight.  We  read  one  verse,  and  spelled  one  or  two 
words,  every  day.  My  class  consisted  of  twelve  forms  or 
long  benches,  each  holding  six  or  eight  boys.  Each  form,  on 
successive  days,  said  grammar,  as  it  was  called,  and  my  turn 
came  only  once  a  fortnight,  unless  I  got  above  others  in  spell- 
ing, which  elevation,  of  course,  brought  the  grammar  lesson 
somewhat  earlier  than  if  I  had  remained  stationary.  Six 
lines  of  the  grammar  were  the  least  quantity  that  was  taken 
for  a  lesson,  but  we  might  say  more  if  we  pleased,  and  he 
who  said  most  went  to  the  head  of  the  form.  Such  was  the 
horror  in  which  this  exercise  was  held,  that  boys,  whose  turn 
it  would  be  to  say  grammar  the  next  day,  would  miss  words 
in  spelling,  so  as  to  drop  into  a  lower  form,  and  put  off  the 
evil  day.  Others,  who  had  an  opportunity  to  rise  into  the 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  141 

doomed  form,  intentionally  spelled  the  words  wrong,  and  staid 
down. 

The  recitation  was  generally  made  to  some  boy  of  the 
highest  class,  and  it  was  never  accompanied  with  any  expla- 
nation. When  a  boy  had  said  every  word  of  the  grammar 
book  through  three  times,  he  was  promoted  to  the  first  class, 
which  alone  was  allowed  to  make  that  wonderful  application 
of  grammar  which  is  technically  called  parsing.  The  text- 
book I  first  learned  was  the  Young  Ladies'  Accidence,  by 
Caleb  Bingham,  with  whom,  after  he  became  a  bookseller,  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  serving  my  apprenticeship,  and  whose 
partner  I  had  the  honor  to  be  until  his  death.  If  this  were 
the  proper  place,  it  would  give  rne  great  delight  to  sketch  the 
character  of  this  excellent  man,  who  was  the  earliest  reformer 
of  education  in  Boston,  and  perhaps  in  these  United  States. 
No  reading  books  were  so  popular  as  his  American  Preceptor 
and  Columbian  Orator.  No  spelling  book  was  more  used 
than  his  Child's  Companion  in  our  primary  schools,  which,  at 
that  time,  were  private  or  select  schools  for  children  under 
seven,  and  kept  by  females  ;  and  his  little  grammar,  called 
"  The  Young  Ladies'  Accidence,"  because,  when  he  made 
and  named  it,  the  author  was  teacher  of  a  select  school  for 
girls,  was  the  first  grammatical  textbook  used  in  the  public 
schools  of  Boston.  I  must  be  contented,  however,  with  barely 
saying  that  Caleb  Bingham  was  a  good  scholar  ;  a  very  suc- 
cessful and  much  beloved  teacher ;  a  gentleman  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word  ;  an  humble,  devout,  consistent,  and  chari- 
table Christian, —  one  of  those  whose  purity  of  heart  enables 
them,  even  here  on  earth,  to  see  God. 

Before  I  had  learned  the  Young  Ladies'  Accidence  once 
through,  it  was  superseded  by  a  little  abridgment  of  Murray's 
Grammar  by  "  A  Teacher  of  Youth  ;"  and  this  I  recited  twice 
by  rote,  —  a  few  lines  at  a  lesson,  before  I  was  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  parsing.  How  far  this  change  of  books  went 
towards  finishing  my  English  education  may  be  inferred  from 
the  fact,  that,  when,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  I  went  to  the  pub- 
lic Latin  school,  and  the  teacher,  by  way  of  examination, 
asked  me  what  was  the  perfect  participle  of  the  verb  love,  I 
could  not  answer  him.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore, 
that  I  hated  grammar,  had  no  faith  in  the  utility  of  teaching 
it  as  it  was  then  taught,  and  determined  to  reform  the 
method,  if  I  ever  had  a  good  opportunity. 

But  the  teacher  must  use  some  textbook,  and  the  question 


142  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

is,  how  shall  he  use  it  ?  To  answer  this  question  fully,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  give  particular  directions  for  the  use  of 
every  one  of  the  hundred  or  more  textbooks  that  have  been 
prepared  to  explain,  or  modify,  or  simplify,  the  system  pro- 
posed nearly  half  a  century  ago  by  Lindley  Murray.  I  can 
not  be  expected  to  do  this,  and  must  be  contented  with  one 
general  remark,  viz.,  Whatever  be  the  textbook,  as  soon  as 
a  principle  is  stated,  do  not  advance  one  step  further  until  it  is 
understood,  and  applied  to  actual  practice.  How  this  may  be 
done,  I  have  attempted  to  show  in  my  Common  School 
Grammar,  to  which  I  must  refer  the  young  teacher,  since  to 
explain  any  textbook  would  be  to  write  a  grammar  as  large 
as  that  to  which  I  refer. 

But  the  most  popular  grammars  used  in  the  United  States 
abound  in  difficulties,  and,  by  perplexing  the  teachers  and  dis- 
gusting the  pupils,  they  fail  to  aid  either  in  the  great  work  of 
using  their  mother  tongue  with  facility  and  effect.  Some- 
thing is  fundamentally  wrong.  All  teachers  and  all  pupils 
feel  this,  and  yet  no  reform  that  has  been  proposed  reaches 
the  difficulty,  or,  in  any  considerable  degree,  obviates  it. 
Will  the  reader  bear  with  me  while,  at  some  length,  I  point 
out  what  I  consider  to  be  the  evil,  and  endeavor  to  propose  an 
adequate  remedy  for  it. 

The  first  school  that  I  undertook  to  teach  was  to  be  con- 
ducted on  the  monitorial  plan,  and  the  monitors,  as  usual, 
formed  the  highest  class,  and  were  under  my  special  instruc- 
tion. The  first  time  that  I  endeavored  to  give  them  a  lesson 
in  English  grammar,  I  found  that  they  all  applied  to  the 
dictionary  to  ascertain  to  what  part  of  speech  a  word  belonged. 
As  the  same  word,  in  different  circumstances,  might  belong  to 
different  classes  of  words,  and  the  pupils  seemed  never  to 
have  exercised  their  ingenuity  in  attempting  to  class  words  by 
the  use  that  was  made  of  them  in  the  sentence,  I  directed  all 
dictionaries  to  be  banished,  and  the  definitions  of  the  various 
parts  of  speech  to  be  thoroughly  learned  before  the  next 
lesson.  When  the  time  arrived,  I  selected  a  sentence  from 
the  reading  book,  and  I  shall  never  forget  it.  It  was,  "  David 
smote  Goliah."  "  Well,"  said  I  to  the  first  pupil,  "  what  part 
of  speech  is  David  ?"  "A  noun,  sir."  "  What  is  a  noun  ?" 
"  A  substantive  orjioun  is  the  name  of  any  thing  that  exists,  or 
of  which  we  have  any  notion."  "  Is  David,  in  this  sentence, 
the  name  of  any  thing  that  exists  ?"  "  No,  sir;  David  died 
long  ago."  "  Is  it  the  name  of  any  thing  of  which  you  have 


ENGLISH    GRAMMAR. 


143 


any  notion?"  "  Yes,  sir;  I  have  some  notion  of  him  as  a 
very  small  man,  and  a  king."  As  the  object  was  only  to 
ascertain  the  part  of  speech,  I  asked  the  next  pupil  what  part 
of  speech  smote  was.  "A  preposition,  sir."  "A  preposi- 
tion !  "  said  I,  with  astonishment,  "  pray  what  is  a  preposition  ? " 
"  Prepositions  serve  to  connect  words  with  one  another  and 
to  show  the  relation  between  them."  "  Very  well,"  said  I, 
with  all  the  importance  of  a  teacher  who  felt  it  his  duty  to 
expose  the  ignorance  of  his  pupil,  "  what  words  does  smote 
connect?"  "  David  and  Goliah,  sir,  for  there  is  nothing  else 
to  connect  them."  "  Yes,"  said  I,  somewhat  flurried,  "  but 
what  relation  does  it  show  between  them  ? "  "  Not  a  very 
friendly  one,  I  should  think,  sir,"  said  the  pupil.  I  was  struck 
with  the  truth  of  the  answers,  and  had  the  honesty  to  say, 
"  You  are  right,  miss,  or  the  definition  in  your  book  is 
wrong." 

This  incident  shook  my  faith  in  the  perfection  of  Murray's 
Grammar ;  and  the  long  course  of  study  which  followed, 
resulted  in  the  settled  conviction  that  Murray's  Grammar  is  far 
from  being  synonymous  with  English  grammar,  and  that  any 
time  spent  in  teaching  it  is  worse  than  thrown  away.  This 
may  seem  a  bold  assertion,  when  it  is  recollected  that,  perhaps, 
hundreds  of  persons  have  published  grammars  founded  upon 
Murray's,  and  the  schools  of  our  country,  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  have  known  no  other,  and 
half  the  teachers,  and  nearly  all  the  parents,  seem  to  have 
adopted  the  notion,  that  to  throw  aside  this  very  popular 
grammar  would  be  to  throw  aside  the  English  language  itself. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  when  I  first  struck  for  reform,  the 
charge  of  wishing  to  corrupt,  or,  at  least,  to  alter  the  language, 
was  urged  against  me  with  no  little  violence,  although  I  never 
proposed  any  such  alteration,  and  was  mainly  anxious  to 
preserve  the  "  well  of  English  undefiled."  I  have  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  several  of  the  improvements  I  then  recom- 
mended very  generally  adopted,  but  much  rubbish  yet  remains 
to  be  removed ;  and  as,  in  teaching  this  branch,  I  differ  from 
my  brother  teachers  still  more  in  regard  to  the  matter  to  be 
taught  than  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  teaching  it,  I  will 
venture  to  give  the  reasons  for  my  conduct  somewhat  at 
length. 

The  human  mind  being  essentially  the  same  in  every  man, 
it  would  be  strange,  if,  in  some  important  respects,  there  was 
not  a  degree  of  similarity  in  the  languages  which  their 


144  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

common  wants  have  created.  All  languages,  for  instance, 
would  be  likely  to  have  words  that  were  the  names  of  objects 
that  could  be  the  subject  of  sense  or  of  thought.  They  would 
have  words  also  to  distinguish  several  individuals  of  the  same 
name  from  each  other,  and  they  would  have  another  class  of 
words  to  express  the  actions  that  any  object  may  perform. 
Beauzee*  expresses  the  same  idea  when  he  says,  "  Reason 
produces  every  where  the  same  results ;  it  establishes  every 
where  the  same  sorts  of  words  to  represent,  under  similar 
circumstances,  the  same  kind  of  ideas ;  it  subjects  words  to 
the  same  kinds  of  service,  and  it  fixes  the  relations  between 
them  as  the  ideas  are  related  of  which  they  are  the  signs." 
A  grammar  whose  object  is  merely  to  show  in  what  respects 
all  languages  agree,  is  called  a  general  grammar ;  but  lan- 
guages do  not  agree  in  every  respect,  and  a  general  grammar 
would  never  enable  us  to  learn  those  peculiarities  which  are 
confined  to  a  single  language.  How  shall  we  learn  them,  then  ? 
Is  it  not  by  studying  such  grammars  as  set  forth  these  peculi- 
arities in  the  clearest  light,  unmixed  with  the  peculiarities  of 
any  other  language  ?  Now,  if  it  can  be  shown  that  ihe 
grammars  in  common  use,  called  English  grammars,  do  not 
exhibit  the  peculiarities  of  our  language,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
so  mix  up  its  peculiarities  with  those  of  other  languages  that 
no  distinct  idea  of  English  grammar  is  contained  in  them, 
ought  we  not  instantly  to  discard  them  all,  and  to  endeavor  to 
find  some  one  that  shall  be  fitted  to  do  the  work  that  they 
can  never  accomplish  ? 

To  understand  this  remark,  let  me  give  an  example,  taken 
from  the  Latin  language.  We  there  find  that  the  verb,  or 
word  that  expresses  action,  changes  its  termination  more  than 
a  hundred  times,  and,  without  the  addition  of  any  other  word, 
changes  its  meaning  as  many  times.  Thus,  — 

Amo  means  I  love. 

Amabam          "      I  was  loving. 
Amavi  "      I  have  loved. 

Amaveram       "      I  had  loved. 
Amabo  "      I  shall  or  will  love. 

Amavero          "      I  shall  or  will  have  loved. 


Amem  "      I  may  or  can  love. 

Amarem.          "      I  might,  could,  would,  or  should  love. 

*  Beauzie,  author  of  "Grammaire  G6n6rale,  ou  Exposition  Raisonn6e  dcs 
Elements  n6cessaires  du  Langage,"  etc. 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  145 

Amaverim  means  I  may  have  loved. 

Amavissem      "      I  might,  could,  would,  or  should  have  loved. 

Ama  "      Love  thou. 

Amare  "      To  love. 

Amavisse         "      To  have  loved. 

Amor  "      I  am  loved. 

Amabar  "      I  was  loved. 

Amabor  "      I  shall  be  loved. 


Amer  "      I  may  or  can  be  loved. 

Amarer  "      I  might,  could,  would,  or  should  he  loved. 

Amator  "      Be  thou  loved. 


Amari  "      To  be  loved. 

Here  are  twenty  forms  of  a  Latin  verb,  each  having  a 
different  termination,  and  each  a  difference  of  meaning,  as  I 
have  shown  by  the  English  translation  that  I  have  placed 
opposite  to  them.  Now  these  changes  of  termination  are 
called  tenses  in  Latin  grammars,  and,  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, each  of  these  has  five  other  variations  to  express  the 
other  persons  in  the  two  numbers.  Thus, 

Amo,  I  love ;  Amos,  thou  lovest ;    Amat,  he  loves ; 

Amamus,  we  love ;  Amatis,  ye  love  ;       Amant,  they  love. 

The  Latin  verbs,  therefore,  have  really  more  than  a  hundred 
such  changes  of  termination. 

Now,  how  is  it  in  our  language  ?  How  many  terminations 
have  we ;  or,  if  these  changes  of  termination  are  called  tenses, 
how  many  tenses  have  we  ?  Let  us  see.  We  have  — 

Love,  lovest,  loveth,  loves. 


Loved,  lovedst. 

Six  in  all !  and,  surely,  there  must  be  an  amazing  difference 
between  the  particular  grammar  of  the  Latin  language  and 
that  of  English,  and  this  point  of  difference,  of  course,  it  would 
seem  to  be  the  duty  of  the  makers  of  English  grammar-books 
distinctly  to  set  forth.  They  have  done  no  such  thing ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  they  have  said  that  we  have  as  many  tenses  as 
13 


146  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

the  Latins  have ;  and  English  children,  who  could  learn  our 
six  terminations,  which  make  but  two  tenses,  in  five  minutes, 
are  compelled  often  to  waste  years  in  learning  the  translations 
of  the  hundred  Latin  tenses,  although  not  one  in  a  thousand 
will  ever  see  the  Latin  words. 

This  multiplicity  of  terminations  has  been  called  an  advan- 
tage, and  is  said  to  add  richness  to  the  Latin  tongue ;  but  it 
seems  to  me,  that,  if  it  is  an  advantage  to  have  an  alphabet  of 
a  few  letters,  by  the  transposition  of  which  we  can  express  all, 
and  more  than  all  that  can  be  expressed  by  the  countless  hiero- 
glyphics which  the  alphabet  superseded,  the  English  language 
has  an  advantage  over  the  Latin  in  being  able  with  six  words 
to  express  all  that  can  be  expressed  by  their  hundred,  and  this 
without  any  loss  of  strength,  or  any  fear  of  mistake. 

This  will  suffice  for  an  example,  and  the  question  naturally 
arises,  "  How  came  English  grammar  to  be  so  strangely 
perverted  ?  "  Fortunately,  this  question  can  be  satisfactorily 
answered.  But,  if  it  be  asked  why  disturb  the  course  of 
instruction  by  introducing  a  new  system  into  the  schools  ?  I 
answer  that  this  question  should  have  been  put  to  Lindley 
Murray  when  he  proposed  his  grammar ;  for  the  grammars 
before  his  day  hardly  departed  at  all  from  the  true  idiom  and 
structure  of  our  language.  The  teacher  who  has  not  access 
to  any  good  library,  and  who  takes, — as,  I  trust,  every  Massa- 
chusetts teacher,  who  deserves  the  name,  does,  —  the  Common 
School  Journal,  will  find  in  the  third  volume  a  brief  analysis 
of  some  of  the  early  grammars  of  our  language,  an  analysis 
which  was  made,  I  believe,  by  a  gentleman,  who,  if  I  can 
judge  from  his  initials,  W.  H.  W.,  saw  in  those  grammars 
what  the  true  principles  of  English  grammar  were,  and  seems 
to  have  approved  them,  and,  nevertheless,  went  away  and  con- 
structed a  grammar  of  his  own,  which,  if  possible,  departs 
further  than  Murray's  does  from  the  simplicity  of  truth,  and 
<Joes  not  appear  to  be  in  the  least  improved  by  the  critic's  re- 
searches. The  analysis,  however,  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  fairly 
made,  and  the  following  is  the  result. 

Lilly's  Grammar.  This  was  a  Latin  grammar,  though,  in 
a  second  part,  it  touched  upon  English ;  "  but,"  says  W.  H. 
W.,  "both  parts  are  devoted  to  the  grammar  of  the  Latin 
tongue."  The  fact  is,  nobody  studied  English  grammar 
when  this  was  published,  in  1513. 

Ben  Jonson's  Grammar,  1640.  W.  H.  W.  says  of  this 
grammar,  "  The  author  attempted  to  force  the  English  Ian- 


ENGLISH  GRAMMAR.  147 

guage  to  the  Latin  idiom."  This  grammar  was  written  in 
English. 

Dr.  Wallis,  1653.  "  This  learned  man  endeavored,"  says 
W.  H.  W.,  "  to  free  the  language  from  the  trammels  imposed 
on  it  by  other  writers,  but  he  sometimes  fell  into  the  opposite 
extreme."  Dr.  W.  classed  adjectives,  pronouns,  possessive 
cases  and  participles,  with  mere  adjectives,  and  allowed  no 
moods,  and  only  two  tenses,  to  verbs.  As  his  grammar  was 
in  fact  the  basis  of  my  Common  School  Grammar,  I  shall  say 
more  of  it  than  the  critic  did,  and  shall  hereafter  endeavor  to 
show  that  Dr.  Wallis  fell  into  no  extreme,  as  the  critic  errone- 
ously supposes. 

John  Brightland,  1710.  The  critic  says,  "He  thoroughly, 
investigated  every  department  of  the  subject,  and  his  work 
presents  a  striking  contrast  with  many  of  our  modern  hasty  and 
superficial  productions."  He  makes  but  four  parts  of  speech, 
—  nouns,  adjectives,  verbs  and  particles.  Pronouns  he  calls 
nouns  ;  the  article  and  the  possessive  case  he  calls  adjectives. 
He  has  no  moods,  and  only  two  tenses.  Participles  he  calls 
adjectives.  The  auxiliaries  he  calls  principal  verbs,  and  the 
verbs  after  them  infinitives  with  to  understood,  as  did  Wallis 
and  Ben  Jonson.  Under  the  name  of  particles  he  includes 
adverbs,  prepositions,  conjunctions  and  interjections.* 

Gough,  James  and  John,  1750.  The  critic  says,  "  This  is 
a  production  of  little  merit ;"  but  he  gives  no  particulars  in 
regard  to  the  parts  of  speech. 

James  Harris,  1751.  The  Hermes  of  Harris  is  a  general 
grammar,  and  should  not  have  been  mentioned  by  the  critic 
among  English  grammars. 

A.  Fisher,  1753.  Four  parts  of  speech,  the  same  as  Bright- 
land's.  He  has  no  moods,  and  but  three  tenses.  He  allows 
but  two  cases,  having  no  objective. 

The  British  Grammar,  1762.  This  anonymous  grammar 
has  eight  parts  of  speech,  and  calls  the  article  and  adjective 
subdivisions  of  the  noun.  It  has  but  two  cases,  four  moods 
and  five  tenses.  It  allows  no  potential  mood,  and  no  second 
future  tense,  but,  in  other  respects,  is  like  Murray's  Grammar, 
of  which  it  was  probably  the  basis. 

It  is  not  known  who  was  the  author  of  this  grammar,  but 
he  is  entitled  to  the  infamy  of  having  led  the  way  to  a  fatal 

*  These  were  the  conclusions  of  a  man  who,  it  seems,  had  "thoroughly 
investigated  every  department  of  the  subject  of  grammar ! " 


148  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

relapse  into  the  wretched  system,  from  which  Wallis  had  so 
patriotically  redeemed  our  language. 

Dr.  Priestley,  1762.  This  very  learned  author  had  no 
moods,  and  but  two  tenses.  "  He  also  asserts,"  says  the  critic, 
"  that  we  have  no  more  business  with  a  future  tense  than  we 
have  with  the  whole  system  of  Latin  moods  and  tenses." 

Dr.  Lowth,  1763.  Dr.  Webster  says  that  Wallis  and 
Lowth  are  the  two  ablest  writers  on  English  grammar.  Dr. 
L.  allows  but  two  cases ;  has  four  moods,  omitting  the  poten- 
tial of  Murray;  and  three  tenses,  adding  the  future  to  the 
present  and  past  of  his  predecessors. 

Dr.  Johnson,  about  1763.  This  grammar  was  prefixed  to 
the  great  dictionary.  The  critic  says  it  cannot  be  regarded 
as  a  complete  system  of  English  grammar.  It  contains  one 
bright  remark,  however,  which  the  critic  seems  to  cite  with 
disapprobation.  Dr.  J.  says,  "  Our  language  has  so  little 
inflection  or  variety  of  terminations  that  its  construction  neither 
requires  nor  admits  many  rules."  He  also  objects  to  the  use 
of  new  terms  or  names  in  grammar. 

Dr.  Ash,  about  1763.  This  grammar  is  mentioned,  but 
nothing  is  said  by  the  critic  to  enable  the  reader  to  form  an 
idea  of  its  plan,  except  that  the  author  called  it  an  Introduction 
to  Lowth's  Grammar.  Dr.  Ash  rejected  the  passive  voice,  and 
called  participles  adjectives. 

William  Ward,  1765.  Of  Ward  the  critic  says,  "  He  was 
strongly  inclined  to  the  old  system  of  instruction,  and  used  his 
influence  to  revive  many  useless  terms,  which  had  been 
rejected  by  Wallis  and  Lowth."  Has  not  the  critic  done  the 
same  thing  in  his  own  grammar,  published  in  1846  ? 

John  Burn,  1766.  The  critic  gives  no  idea  of  his  system, 
and  might  as  well  not  have  named  him. 

James  Buchanan,  1767.  "  Stolen  chiefly  from  the  British 
Grammar,"  says  the  critic. 

The  ill  health  of  W.  H.  W.  prevented  him  from  con- 
tinuing the  list  any  further,  but  he  brought  it  far  enough  to 
show  that,  originally,  English  grammar  was  made  entirely 
subservient  to  the  Latin ;  then,  some  noble  minds,  led  on  by 
Dr.  Wallis,  broke  the  shackles,  and  made  a  proper  English 
grammar ;  and,  finally,  men  of  less  genius  and  learning  began 
the  retrogression,  which  ended  in  the  production  of  Murray's 
Grammar,  et  id  genus  omne. 

I  promised  to  say  something  more  of  Dr.  Wallis's  Gram- 
mar, but  let  me  first  say  a  word  or  two  of  the  man. 


ENGLISH  GRAMMAR.  149 

Dr.  John  Wallis  was  a  distinguished  professor  of  geome- 
try in  Oxford  University,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Royal 
Society,  and  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  famous  Westminster 
Assembly  of  Divines  in  1644.  Before  he  was  honored  with 
the  professorship,  he  was  a  clergyman,  and,  probably,  a 
teacher,  for  he  taught  several  deaf  mutes  to  speak,  and  wrote 
a  valuable  treatise  on  the  best  method  of  instructing  them.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  that  no  one  seems  to  have  thought  of  simpli- 
fying the  labor  of  teaching  these  unfortunates  by  adopting  the 
English  Grammar  of  this  true  philosopher,  who  to  this,  no 
doubt,  owed  much  of  his  success  in  teaching  them  to  articulate 
words.  Dr.  Wallis  made  some  valuable  discoveries  in  natural 
philosophy,  and  his  mathematical  works  led  to  many  im- 
portant improvements.  As  a  linguist  he  was  distinguished, 
and  edited  two  or  three  ancient  authors.  He  was  therefore  a 
competent  judge  of  general  and  particular  grammar,  more  so 
than  any  that  preceded  or  followed  him,  with  the  exception, 
perhaps,  of  Dr.  Priestley,  who  agreed  with  him,  and  Dr. 
Lowth,  who  wrote  his  Grammar,  as  he  avows,  for  the  special 
purpose  of  helping  some  of  his  family  to  study  Latin  and 
Greek. 

In  the  preface  to  his  Grammar,  nearly  two  hundred  years 
ago,  Dr.  Wallis  says  :  — 

"  Many  foreigners  who  wish  to  learn  our  language,  com- 
plain of  its  difficulty  ;  and  even  some  of  our  own  countrymen 
think  it  can  not  be  subjected  to  any  grammatical  rules.  These 
evils  I  have  undertaken  to  remedy,  in  order  that  a  language, 
in  itself  very  easy  of  acquisition,  may  be  so  explained  that 
foreigners  may  more  easily  learn  it,  and  natives  more 
thoroughly  understand  its  true  structure.  I  am  aware  that 
others  before  me  have  attempted  this,  amongst  whom  are  Dr. 
Gill  in  Latin,  Ben  Johnson  in  English,  and  Henry  Hexham 
in  Belgic ;  but  no  one  of  them,  as  I  think,  has  adopted  the 
method  best  adapted  to  this  design,  for,  all  of  them,  by  forcing 
our  language  to  conform  to  the  Latin  model,  have  given  many 
useless  rules  about  the  cases,  genders,  and  declensions  of  nouns, 
the  tenses,  modes,  and  conjugations  of  verbs,  and  other  similar 
things,  which  aie  entirely  foreign  to  our  language,  and 
obscure  and  confuse,  rather  than  explain  it.  On  this  account, 
I  have  adopted  a  different  method,  which  aims  not  so  much 
to  exhibit  the  usages  of  the  Latin  tongue,  as  the  peculiarities 
of  our  own ;  for,  what  causes  much  trouble  in  other  languages, 
13* 


150  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

is  made  a  light  affair  in  ours,  by  the  aid  of  prepositions  and 
auxiliaries." 

How,  then,  does  Dr.  Wallis  construct  his  True  English 
Grammar  ?  I  will  show,  in  as  few  words  as  possible. 

1.  He  has  eight  parts  of  speech,  —  the  noun,  adjective,  pro- 
noun, verb,  adverb,  preposition,  conjunction,  and  interjection. 

2.  The  articles  he  calls  adjectives. 

3.  He  has  no  cases  to  nouns ;  for  the  possessive  case,  he 
says,  is  a  mere  adjective,  and  not,  like  nouns,  the  name  of 
any  thing. 

4.  All  adjective  pronouns,  and  possessive  cases  of  personal 
pronouns,  he  calls  adjectives. 

5.  Personal  pronouns,  he  says,  ought  to  be  called  nouns. 
He  keeps  them  in  a  separate  class,  however,  probably  because 
they  seem  to  have  two  cases,  which  he  calls  two  states  or 
conditions. 

6.  He  has  no  active  and  passive  voice,  no  moods,  and 
only  two  tenses, — the  two  that  Murray  calls  the  present  and 
imperfect. 

7.  Of  the  two  participles,  which  he  calls  active  and  passive, 
he  says,  "  They  are  clearly  adjectives,  and,  in  every  respect, 
like  other  adjectives." 

8.  What  Murray  calls  auxiliaries,  he  calls  so,  because,  he 
says,  they  have  no  auxiliaries  themselves,  and  no  participles. 
As  this  is  not  true  of  be,  have,  do,  and  will,  and,  since  Dr.  W. 
treats  them  all  as  principal  verbs,  the  utility  of  calling  them 
auxiliaries  is  not  very  apparent. 

9.  He  treats  the  other  four  parts  of  speech  very  much  as 
Murray  does. 

This  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  plan  ;  and  who  does  not  see 
that  it  is  founded  in  nature  and  reason,  and  is  more  simple 
than  the  grammar  that  prevails? 

I  am  not  aware  that,  in  the  Common  School  Grammar,  I 
have  departed  in  any  important  respect  from  the  great 
principles  laid  down  by  Dr.  Wallis ;  but  I  know  that  these 
principles,  simple  as  they  are,  will  not  be  received  without 
great  reluctance,  and  I  shall,  at  the  risk  of  being  tedious,  say 
a  few  words  upon  each  of  the  nine  points  above  noticed.  It 
would  be  a  shorter  way,  perhaps,  to  refer  the  teacher-  at  once 
to  my  Grammar;  but  as  that  is  intended  for  children,  I  have 
not  discussed  any  disputed  question,  because  this  could  only 
perplex,  the  learner,  and  the  teacher  should  be  convinced 
without  obliging  the  child  to  pay  for  the  argument. 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  151 

1.  In  regard  to  the  parts  of  speech.  As  we  have  names 
of  things  that  exist,  and  of  those  also  "  of  which  we  have  any 
notion,"  we  must  have  names  for  actions ;  but  we  have  no 
such  names,  unless  the  infinitive  mode  of  Mr.  Murray,  and 
the  present  participle,  when  not  used  as  an  adjective,  are 
called  nouns.  This  may  seem  a  startling  position,  but  it  does 
no  violence  even  to  the  Grammar  of  Mr.  Murray;  for  he 
always  governs  the  infinitive  as  he  would  a  noun,  and  makes 
a  nominative  of  it  in  the  same  manner  ;  nay,  he  even  allows 
an  adjective  to  qualify  it,  as  in  the  sentence,  "  To  see  the  sun 
is  pleasant."  He  does  the  same  thing  with  the  present  par- 
ticiple, and  why  then  should  not  these  names  of  action  at 
once  be  called  nouns.  If  it  be  said,  "  the  infinitive  must  be 
a  verb,  because  the  other  modes  and  tenses  are  formed  from 
it,"  the  answer  is,  that,  granting  that  they  are  so  formed,  the 
consequence  does  not  follow.  A  head  is  a  noun,  to  head  is  an 
infinitive,  /  headed  is  an  undoubted  verb ;  now,  if  to  head  is 
a  verb  because  I  headed  is  formed  from  it,  then  a  head 
is  a  verb  because  to  head  is  formed  from  that.  What  is  the 
difference  between  I  love  reading,  and  Hove  to  read  ;  urriting 
is  useful,  and  to  write  is  useful;  and  why  should  they  be 
parsed  differently  ?  It  is,  therefore,  no  departure  from  even 
Muriay  himself  to  call  infinitives  and  present  participles, 
nouns  ;  but,  if  it  were,  I  could  bring  authority  for  doing  so, 
with  which  Mr.  Murray  and  his  followers  may  not  be  compared. 

I  shall  content  myself  with  only  one  extract  from  Dr. 
Crombie's  justly  celebrated  Grammar,  cited  with  approbation 
by  Bosworth,  in  his  valuable  Anglo-Saxon  Grammar.  Dr. 
Crombie  says,  "  In  what  light  are  we  to  consider  the  phrase 
to  love,  generally  termed  an  infinitive  ;  or  to  what  class  of 
words  is  it  reducible  ?  It  cannot  be  a  verb,  for  it  does  not 
affirm  any  thing.  It  expresses  merely  an  action  or  state 
abstractedly.  Hence,  many  grammarians  have  justly  con- 
sidered it  no  part  of  the  verb ;  and,  in  the  languages  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  the  infinitive  was  employed  like  a  common  sub- 
stantive, having  frequently  an  adjective  joined  with  it,  and 
subject  to  the  government  of  verbs  and  prepositions.  I 
decidedly  concur  with  those  grammarians  who  exclude  the 
infinitive  from  the  appellation  of  verb.  The  ancient  Latin 
grammarians,  as  Priscian  informs  us,  termed  it,  properly 
enough,  "  nomen  verbi,  the  noun,  or  name  of  the  verb."  In 
the  Common  School  Grammar,  it  is  called  a  verbal  noun. 

2.  The  Article,  also,  is  struck  from  the  list  of  parts  of  speech. 


152  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

It  may  seem  unnecessary  to  say  a  word  in  defence  of  this 
act,  for  some  of  the  Latino- English  grammarians,  and  W.  H. 
W.,  of  the  Common  School  Journal,  among  them,  yield  this 
point ;  and  yet,  not  many  days  ago,  a  gentleman,  of  some  rep- 
utation as  a  scholar  and  a  teacher,  undertook,  at  one  of  the 
Normal  schools,  to  expose  my  folly  in  uttering  such  a  notion, 
and,  therefore,  it  may  be  well  to  waste  a  word  upon  his  argu- 
ments, which  have  been  reported  me. 

"  The  articles  have  a  peculiar  meaning  and  use,  different 
from  adjectives,"  says  my  reviewer.  When  I  say,  Give  me 
an  orange,  then,  what  do  I  mean,  but  that  I  wish  for  one 
orange  ?  When  I  say,  Give  me  one  orange,  what  do  I  mean, 
but  that  I  wish  for  an  orange  ?  So  much  for  the  peculiar 
meaning  ;  and  who  can  tell  in  what  respect  an  is  used  differ- 
ently from  one  ?  If  it  be  still  objected,  that  this  similarity  of 
meaning  and  use  proves  not  that  an  is  an  adjective,  for  one  is 
an  indefinite  adjective  pronoun,  I  may  grant  this,  and  be 
contented,  for  the  present,  to  call  a,  an,  and  the  indefinite 
adjective  pronouns  ;  and  the  similarity  of  meaning  and  use 
between  the  expressions,  Give  me  a  book  to  read,  Give  me 
some  book  to  read,  and,  Give  me  any  book  to  read,  may  help 
to  fix  the  articles  among  the  pronouns.  We  shall  see  what 
adjective  pronouns  are,  presently.  • 

The  must  go  into  the  same  class  also  for  the  present,  if 
give  me  the  book  you  are  reading,  and  give  me  that  book  you 
are  reading,  mean  the  same  thing,  and  the  and  that  are  used 
in  a  similar  manner.  So  "  I  saw  the  strangers  you  described," 
I  saw  those  strangers  you  described.  "  I  will  keep  the  book 
that  I  hold  in  my  hand,"  I  will  keep  this  book  that  I  hold  in 
my  hand,  &c.,  &c.  It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  examples. 

The  fact  is,  that  the,  although  separated  from  this,  that, 
these,  and  those,  and  called  a  definite  article,  is  not  so  well 
entitled  to  this  distinction  as  they  are  ;  for,  if  the  can  be  used 
for  any  one  of  the  four,  and  they  cannot  be  used  for  each 
other,  it  necessarily  follows  that  the  meaning  of  the  is  more 
general  or  comprehensive,  and,  of  course,  less  definite  than 
theirs. 

But,  says  my  reviewer,  "  It  is  well  to  have  a  name  and  a 
definition  for  the  articles,  to  call  attention  to  them,  and  fix 
their  meaning  in  the  mind,  which  is  the  only  object  of  making 
and  defining  any  distinctions."  Well,  then,  what  is  his  defi- 
nition of  the  article  ?  "An  article  is  a  word  prefixed  to  sub- 
stantives to  point  them  out,  and  show  how  far  their  significa- 


ENGLISH  GRAMMAR.  153 

tion  extends."  Let  us  test  this  definition,  which  my  reviewer 
thinks  so  very  important.  "  The  scholars  who  hear  me"  is  a 
good  sentence  for  this  purpose.  The,  we  are  told,  points  out 
the  scholars,  and  shows  how  far  their  signification  extends. 
But,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  the  signification  would  be  just  as 
limited  if  the  were  entirely  omitted,  and  the  sentence  were, 
" Scholars,  who  hear  me."  Does  not  the  clause,  "who  hear 
me,"  though  not  prefixed  to  the  substantive,  point  it  out,  and 
show  how  far  its  signification  extends  ?  and  is  not  this  clause, 
therefore,  a  better  article  than  the  word  the,  which  is  so  indef- 
inite that  it  may  be  omitted  ? 

Again,  in  the  sentence,  "  Normal  scholars,  listen  to  me  ! " 
is  not  Normal  prefixed  to  the  substantive  ?  and  does  it  not 
show  how  far  the  signification  extends  ?  Why  is  not  Nor- 
mal a  good  article  then  ?  —  Normal  scholars  are,  we  all 
know. 

Again,  in  the  name,  John  Smith,  John  is  prefixed  to  Smith 
to  point  the  particular  Smith  out,  and  show  how  far  the  signifi- 
cation of  Smith  extends.  John,  then,  must  be  a  good  article. 
So  with  wind  mill,  elm  tree,  barn  door,  &c.,  where  wind,  elm, 
and  barn  answer  perfectly  to  his  definition  of  the  article.  So 
even  the  verbs  grind  and  tell  become  similar  articles,  when 
prefixed  to  the  substantives  stone  and  tale ;  as,  grind-stone, 
tell-tale.  So  the  pronouns  in  "  my  child,"  "  his  child,"  "  her 
child,"  become  the  best  of  articles,  by  fulfilling  all  the  con- 
ditions of  the  definition  that  my  reviewer  thinks  so  essential 
to  show  what  a  true  article  is. 

I  have  already  shown  how  my  pupil  applied  the  definition 
of  the  preposition  to  a  verb,  and  I  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  no 
definition  of  any  part  of  speech  in  Murray's  Grammar  is  a 
whit  more  definite  than  that.  To  prove  this,  let  us  amuse 
ourselves  with  an  experiment  on  Mr.  Murray's  definitions  of 
the  adverb,  preposition  and  conjunction. 

"  An  adverb  is  a  part  of  speech  joined  to  a  verb,  an  adjec- 
tive, and  sometimes  to  another  adverb,  to  express  some  quality 
or  circumstance  respecting  it;"  as, — 

He  reads  correctly.  Correctly  expresses  some  circumstance 
of  the  verb  reads,  viz.,  its  quality. 

He  reads  to  me.  To  expresses  a  circumstance  of  reads, 

viz.,  its  direction. 

He  reads  05  I  do.  As  expresses  a  circumstance  of  reads, 

viz.,  its  resemblance  to  my  reading. 


154  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


"  Prepositions  serve  to  connect  words  with  one  another  and 
to  show  the  relation  between  them." 

He  wished  for  a  coach.  It  is  not  my  business  to  say  whether 
for  connects  he  or  unshed  with 
coach,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think 
the  connection  and  relation  would 
be  just  as  apparent  if  for  were  en- 
tirely omitted. 

He  wished  but  a  coach.  But  connects  words  as  much  as  for 
does,  and  it  shows  the  relation 
between  wished  and  the  object  of 
the  wish,  viz.,  the  relation  of  re- 
striction. 

He  wished  then  a  coach.  Then  connects  of  course,  though  it 
may  be  left  out  as  for  may,  and  it 
shows  the  relation  of  time  between 
the  wish  and  the  thing  wished. 

"  A  conjunction  is  a  part  of  speech  that  is   chiefly  used 
to  connect  sentences  ;  it  sometimes  connects  only  words." 
Two  and  three  are  five.     And  connects  two  and  three. 
Two  with  three  are  five.    With  connects  the  same  words. 
Two  more  three  are  five,  That  is,  2-}-3=  5. 

But  enough  of  this ;  the  definitions  are  all  wrong,  and  1 
should  ask  pardon  for  this  attempt  to  expose  what  is  so  mani- 
festly absurd. 

3.  Next  comes  the  subject  of  Cases.  We  have  seen  that 
several  of  the  old  grammarians,  noticed  by  W.  H.  W.,  allowed 
no  cases,  and  others  allowed  but  two, — the  nominative  and 
possessive.  Some  English  grammarians  allow  but  one  ca?e, 
and  some  claim  six,  not  because  we  vary  the  noun,  as  the 
Latins  can,  in  six*  different  ways,  but  because,  by  the  aid  of 
certain  prepositions,  we  can  translate  their  cases  into  English. 
Thus  the  Latins  say : 

SINGtTLAR. 

Nominative,     Homo,  which  means       Man. 


Genitive,  Hominis, 

Dative,  Homini, 

Accusative,  Hominem, 

Vocative,  Homo, 

Ablative,  Homine, 


of  Man. 
to  Man. 
Man. 
OMan! 
with  Man. 


*  Latin  nouns  have  usually  five  variations  in  the  singular,  and  four  in  the 


ENGLISH    GRAMMAR. 


155 


Nominative, 
Genitive, 
Dative, 
Accusative, 
Vocative, 
Ablative, 

PLURAL. 

Homines,        whi 
Hominum,          ' 
Hominibus,        ' 
Homines,            ' 
Homines,            ' 
Hominibus,        ' 

chme 

ans       Men. 
of  Men. 
to  Men. 
Men. 
OMen! 
with.  Men. 

Now,  if  the  Latins  have  six  cases,  and  we  can  translate 
vhem  by  a  phrase  in  English,  we  have  as  good  a  right  to  say 
that  we  have  six  cases,  as  we  have  to  say  that  we  have  four 
or  five  moods,  and  forty  or  more  tenses  ;  because,  forsooth,  we 
can,  by  phrases,  express  what  they  express  by  only  altering 
the  termination  of  single  words. 

Dr.  Crombie,  by  far  the  most  judicious  of  modern  gram- 
marians, says,  "  If  we  confine  the  term  noun  to  the  name  of 
an  object,  we  shall  exclude  the  possessive  from  all  right  to 
this  appellation.  "This  is,  indeed,  an  inconsistency,  which 
can  in  no  way  be  removed,  unless  by  adopting  the  opinion  of 
Wallis,  who  assigns  no  cases  to  English  nouns,  and  considers 
man's,  king's  &c.,  mere  adjectives." 

It  is  clear  that,  if  "  a  substantive  or  noun  is  the  name  of 
any  thing,"  man's,  and  king's,  and  John's,  can  not  be  nouns  ; 
for  who  ever  saw  such  a  thing  as  a  man's,  a  king's,  or  such 
a  boy  as  John's  ?  It  is  amusing  to  see  those  who  do  not 
hesitate  to  place  even  the  nominative  or  the  objective  case 
unchanged  before  another  noun,  and  call  it  an  adjective,  as 
town  clerk,  city  government,  head  ornament,  are  afraid  or  un- 
willing to  call  the  possessive  case  an  adjective,  although  there 
is  no  difference  of  meaning  or  use  between  town  clerk  and 
town's  clerk  ;  the  city  government,  and  the  city's  government ; 
head  ornament,  or  the  head's  ornament,  &c. 

The  fact  is,  that,  when  we  use  a  possessive  case  before  a 
noun,  we  do  so  to  distinguish  that  object  from  others  of  the 
same  name  ;  and  all  words  used  for  this  purpose  are  adjec- 
tives. If  I  see  several  hats  in  a  row,  and  wish  to  describe  or 
distinguish  them  from  each  other,  I  call  one  neio,  and  another 
old,  to  distinguish  their  age  ;  one  black,  and  another  white,  to 
distinguish  them  by  color ;  one  fine,  and  another  coarse,  to 
distinguish  their  quality ;  one  near,  and  another  distant,  to 
distinguish  their  place  ;  one  John's,  and  another  Henry's,  to 

plural.    The  nominative  and  vocative,  in  both  numbers,  and  the  dative  and 
ablative,  in  the  plural,  are  generally  alike. 


156  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

distinguish  their  possessors.  Whatever  word  I  use  to  dis- 
tinguish them  becomes  an  adjective  ;  and,  if  this  is  true  when 
a  verb,  as,  tell  tale ;  a  noun,  as,  tale  bearer ;  or  an  adverb,  as, 
the  very  man,  are  used  unaltered,  how  much  rather  is  it  the 
case  when  a  change  is  made  in  the  termination,  for  the  very 
purpose  of  making  an  adjective  of  the  noun,  as  the  termi- 
ation  ly  makes  an  adverb  of  an  adjective. 

4.  Adjective  pronouns  are  called  so  because  they  have  the 
nature  of  adjectives,  and  are  used,  like  adjectives,  to  distin- 
guish nouns.  The  best  grammarians  call  them  adjectives  at 
once;  but  some  pretend  to  have  discovered  that  some  of  them 
— not  all — are  occasionally  used  without  a  noun,  and  therefore 
are  said  to  stand  instead  of  a  noun,  and  so  come  under  the 
definition  of  a  pronoun,  which  is  said  to  be,  "  A  word  used 
instead  of  a  noun  to  prevent  its  too  frequent  repetition."  If 
standing  without  its  noun  makes  a  pronoun  of  an  adjective, 
it  may  reasonably  be  suspected  that  every  adjective  occasion- 
ally becomes  a  pronoun.  In  the  sentence,  "  The  wise  and 
good  are  scarce,"  are  wise  and  good  pronouns,  because  their 
noun  is  understood  ? 

But,  says  a  shrewd  philologist,  "  It  does  not  follow  that  the 
words  called  pronouns  stand  instead  of  nouns,  any  more  than 
it  can  be  truly  said,  that  those  words  which  remain  in  any 
elliptic  or  abridged  sentence  stand  instead  of  the  words  omit- 
ted." Such  words  refer  to  some  noun  that  is  understood,  and 
point  it  out,  but  they  no  more  stand  instead  of  what  they  point 
at,  than  a  guide-board  stands  instead  of  a  town,  to  which  it 
only  directs  the  traveller. 

The  greatest  grammarians  of  other  languages,  as  well  as 
of  the  English,  have  classed  all  the  pronouns  among  the 
adjectives,  but  I  have  been  contented  with  giving  this  name  to 
the  adjective  pronouns,  and  the  possessive  case  of  the  personal 
and  relative  pronouns. 

Some,  however,  may  say,  "  We  grant  that  all  the  adjec- 
tive pronouns  may  be  used  as  adjectives,  and  may  have  nouns 
understood,  which  may  be  easily  supplied,  but  it  is  not  so 
with  the  possessive  cases  of  personal  pronouns,  for  when,  in 
speaking  of  two  books,  we  say,  "  This  is  mine  and  that  is 
yours"  akhough  the  word  book  is  evidently  understood,  we 
cannot  supply  it,  for  it  will  not  do  to  say,  "  This  is  mine  book 
and  that  is  yours  book"  This  is  all  true,  but  the  time  was 
when  mine  was  spelled  me-en,  as  yours  was  your-en,  or,  con- 
tracted, yourn,  and  this  termination  en  marked  an  adjective 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  157 

as  much  as  ly  now  does  an  adverb.  Yours  is  only  your's,  the 
possessive  termination,  which,  it  has  been  shown,  marks  an 
adjective. 

But,  what  do  mine  and  yours  stand  instead  of?  If  the 
conversation  is  between  William  and  John,  mine  means  Wil- 
liam's, and  yours  means  John's.  It  has  been  shown  that 
William's  and  John's,  not  being  names  of  persons,  are  not 
nouns,  and,  consequently,  if  mine  and  yours  stand  instead  of 
those  words,  they  cannot  be  pronouns,  for  pronouns,  the  gram- 
mar says,  are  words  that  stand  instead  of  nouns,  and  not 
instead  of  adjectives. 

Again  ;  if  mine  and  thine,  hers,  ours,  yours  and  theirs,  are 
used  without,  or  instead  of,  nouns  that  can  not  be  supplied, 
this  is  not  the  case  with  the  possessives  his  and  its,  for  the 
noun  may  be  introduced  by  the  side  of  these,  and  this  may 
lead  one  to  doubt  whether  the  use  of  the  words  mine, 
yours,  &c.,  precludes  the  introduction  of  the  noun.  We  find, 
therefore,  that  although,  in  the  case  above  mentioned,  it  may 
not  be  graceful  to  say,  "  This  is  mine  look  and  that  is  yours 
book,"  yet  it  is  perfectly  correct  to  place  the  word  book  else- 
where, and  say,  "  This  book  is  mine  and  that  book  is  yours" 
in  which  sentences  mine  and  yours  qualify  book  as  much  as 
new  and  old  would  in  the  sentence,  "  This  book  is  new  and 
that  is  old,"  it  being  ungraceful  to  say,  "  This  is  new  book 
and  that  is  old  book." 

But,  if  the  English  nouns  have  no  change  of  termination 
entitling  them  to  the  distinction  of  cases,  they  can  express  all 
the  Latin  cases,  and  many  more,  by  the  help  of  prepositions, 
or,  often,  without  their  aid.  If  a  noun  does  any  thing,  it  is 
an  agent;  if  something  is  done  to  it,  it  is  an  object.  The  two 
words,  agent  and  object,  are  the  only  new  ones,  I  believe, 
that  have  been  introduced  into  the  Common  School  Gram- 
mar, and  whether  they  can  be  better  explained  than  the  terms 
nominative  case  and  objective  case,  the  teacher  will  soon  dis- 
cover by  trial. 

5.  Personal  pronouns  were  called  nouns  by  Dr.  Wallis, 
and  by  several  succeeding  grammarians,  and  it  would  be 
much  easier  to  prove  them  to  be  so  than  to  prove  that  they 
are  pronouns.  They  do,  however,  have  this  peculiarity,  that 
the  nominative  case  or  agent  is  a  different  word  from  the 
objective  case  or  object.  Then,  it  may  be  asked,  why  not 
call  the  variations  of  personal  pronouns  cases  at  once,  since 
there  is  really  a  difference  in  the  words  ?  Case  is  derived 
14 


158  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

from  casus,  a  Latin  word,  which,  some  say,  means  an  acci- 
dent, the  change  of  termination  being  considered  an  accident ; 
or,  as  others  say,  because  the  cases  fall  off  from  the  nomina- 
tive. Now,  in  neither  sense,  is  the  objective  of  the  pronoun 
of  the  first  person  a  case;  for  me  and  us  are  not  produced  by  a 
change  of  termination,  nor  by  any  such  accident  as  happens 
to  Latin  nouns.  It  is  safer,  therefore,  to  say  that  /  is  an 
agent,  and  me  an  object,  and  to  leave  the  word  case  until  the 
child  learns  some  language  to  whose  nouns  the  term  is  appli- 
cable. Any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  read  Mr.  Mur- 
ray's remarks  under  the  term  case,  will  see  enough,  I  think, 
to  sicken  him  of  this  propensity  to  ape  the  classic  languages. 

6.  But  the  great  point  of  difference  between  Dr.  ^Wallis, 
Dr.  Priestley,  Dr.  Crombie,  &c.,  and  Mr.  Murray  and  his 
imitators,  is  in  the  manner  of  treating  the  verb.  This  differ- 
ence is  so  essential  that  it  must  not  be  lightly  disregarded ; 
and  the  teacher  is  bound  in  conscience  to  weigh  well  the. 
question,  "  What  is  the  verb  in  English,  and  in  what  manner 
shall  it  be  presented  to  the  mind  of  a  child  ? "  It  is  gen- 
erally granted  that  the  English  verbs  have  really  no  great 
variety  of  termination,  and  yet  we  are  told  that  there  is  a 
propriety  and  a  convenience  in  giving  the  name  of  tense  to 
certain  English  phrases,  because  they  are  translations  of 
Latin  tenses. 

The  example  of  a  Latin  and  English  verb  that  I  have 
given  on  pages  144-5,  must  go  far,  I  think,  towards  showing 
that  there  is  no  propriety  in  giving  the  name  of  tense  to 
certain  English  phrases,  which  are  like  hundreds  of  other 
phrases,  and  have  no  better  right  than  they  to  this  distinction. 
Why  not  take  other  languages  than  Latin,  and  translate  the 
tenses  of  their  verbs,  and  say  we  have  those  tenses,  also  ? 
Who  can  tell  where  we  shall  stop  ?  * 

But,  say  the  old  school  grammarians,  "  We  certainly  have 
three  divisions  of  time,  present,  past  and  future,  and  these  are 
subdivided."  No  one  will  deny  that  all  nations  have  an  idea 
of  past  time,  and  of  this,  as  of  the  present,  history  treats. 
They  have  an  idea  of  future  time,  also,  and  this  is  the  prov- 
ince of  prophecy  or  imagination ;  but,  because  the  idea  of 
these  three  divisions  of  time  is  common  to  all  nations,  it  by 
no  means  follows  that  all  nations  have  the  same  manner  of 

*  We  need  go  no  further  than  the  Greek  to  find  an  Optative  mood,  of  which 
the  present  tense  of  the  verb  go  would  be  equivalent  to  "  I  wish  to  go." 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  159 

expressing  their  ideas.  The  English,  as  has  been  shown  by  the 
best  authority,  have  but  two  tenses,  the  present  and  the  past ; 
but  the  English  is  not  so  singular  in  this  respect  as  some 
other  languages.  Michaelis,  in  his  Syriac  Grammar,  says, 
"  The  Syrians,  like  the  rest  of  the  Orientals,  have  but  two 
tenses,  the  past  and  the  future  ;"  but,  he  adds.  "  by  the  help 
of  the  verb  or  pronoun,  they  can  express  the  five  tenses  of  the 
Latins,  and  even  a  sixth  tense ;  and  they  have  a  sort  of  pres- 
ent formed  by  the  coalescence  of  the  pronoun  and  verb  into 
one  word  ;  but  I  have  not  given  these  tenses  a  place  in  my 
paradigm,  lest  I  should  cumber  it  uselessly."  What  a  pity 
that  Mr.  Murray,  and  those  who,  with  him,  have  "  cumbered 
the  English  grammar  uselessly,"  had  not  been  blessed  with 
some  portion  of  the  great  German's  judgment  and  discretion ! 

There  is  no  propriety,  therefore,  in  thrusting  so  many  mis- 
called tenses  into  our  grammar;  and,  as  there  is  no  good 
authority  for  any  such  abuse,  let  us  see  if  there  is  any  con- 
venience in  it.  It  may  be  convenient  for  a  child  who  is  going 
to  study  Latin  to  learn  the  phrases  that  correspond  to  the 
Latin  tenses;  but  is  it  fair  to  impose  this  task  upon  every 
child?  The  number  of  children  in  the  public  schools  of 
Massachusetts  is  about  175,000;  the  whole  number  of 
graduates  annually  from  our  three  colleges  falls  short  of  two 
hundred.  A  few  study  Latin  without  going  to  college,  but 
such  do  not  make  any  extensive  acquaintance  with  it,  and  an 
allowance  of  300  per  annum  will  be  liberal.  At  this  rate,  one 
child  in  about  six  hundred  of  those  who  go  to  school  studies 
Latin,  and  to  accommodate  this  one,  five  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  are  compelled  to  learn  what  is  of  no  use  to  them,  and 
what  really  is  an  insurmountable  stumbling-block  in  their 
way.  Can  any  thing  be  more  unjust  ? 

But  it  is  convenient,  say  some,  to  have  our  grammar  con- 
form to  other  languages,  that  foreigners  may  learn  it  more 
easily.  This  must  be  a  mistake  altogether.  Grammars  con- 
structed for  the  use  of  foreigners,  are  differently  composed 
from  the  common  grammar.  They  are  compared  with  the 
language  to  be  learned,  and  our  terms  are  translated  into  the 
terms  used  by  the  other.  Cobbett,  who  made  a  good  gram- 
mar for  Englishmen,  made  a  very  different  one  for  French- 
men to  learn  English.  But,  grant  that  the  making  of  our 
grammar  on  a  foreign  model  helps  the  foreigner,  the  propor- 
tion of  foreigners  who  study  English  is  as  nothing  to  our 
own  children,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  we  can 


160  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

adapt  our  language  to  only  one  foreign  idiom,  and  just  as  far 
as  it  is  forced  to  resemble  one,  it  is  made  unlike  the  rest. 

But  in  spite  of  the  unnatural  form  of  the  common  English 
grammars,  some  say  there  is  a  convenience  in  having  the 
moods  and  tenses  and  the  passive  voice,  and  we  can  teach  the 
use  of  the  language  better  with  them  than  without  them. 
We  have  seen  that,  from  the  year  1653,  almost  till  Mr.  Mur- 
ray's day,  certainly  for  more  than  a  century,  no  such  thing  as 
moods,  and  only  two  tenses,  were  allowed  in  the  grammars ; 
but  who  will  pretend  that  the  English  language  was  written 
with  less  purity  and  power  in  what  has  been  called  its 
Augustan  age,  than  at  any  time  before  or  since  ?  Addison, 
Swift,  Steel,  Pope,  Johnson,  Home  Tooke,  and  Junius,  were 
educated  in  this  period,  and  it  is  very  clear  that  the  English 
language  did  not  suffer  in  their  hands.  It  is  clear  that  no 
such  thing  as  moods  and  tenses  would  have  been  dreamed  of, 
had  there  been  no  such  thing  in  Latin ;  that  is,  had  the  Eng- 
lish never  known  that  there  was  any  other  language  than 
their  own. 

I  regret  the  necessity,  but  my  plan  requires  that  I  should 
examine  this  matter  of  convenience  more  thoroughly.  If  it  is 
an  object  to  teach  children  this  mixed  grammar,  the  advantages 
should  more  than  balance  the  disadvantages,  not  to  the  few, 
but  to  the  million,  whose  only  object  is  to  learn  English.  It 
certainly  is  less  difficult  to  teach  a  child  two  tenses  only,  than 
to  teach  him  the  common  system  of  voices,  moods  and  tenses. 
Let  us  contrast  them  by  a  paradigm. 


PAST  TENSE. 
PRESENT  TENSE. 


The  present  tense,  being  the  root  of  the  past,  is  placed 
below  it.  The  name  of  the  verb  being  a  noun,  and  the  parti- 
ciples being  mere  adjectives,  the  English  verb  has  but  the  two 
forms  above  given,  and  these  are  all  it  needs.  Compare  this 
simplicity  with  the  common  system,  as  displayed  in  the  fol- 
lowing paradigm. 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR. 


161 


Compound  Perfect. 
Perfect  Participle. 
Present  Participle. 
PARTICIPLES. 
Perfect  Tense. 
Present  Tense. 
INFINITIVE  MOOD. 


I- N 

D 


Compound  Perfect. 

Perfect  Participle. 

Present  Participle. 

PARTICIPLES. 

Perfect  Tense. 

Present  Tense. 

INFINITIVE  MOOD. 


Second  Future  Tense.  Second  Future  Tense. 


First  Future  Tense. 

Pluperfect  Tense. 

Perfect  Tense. 

Imperfect  Tense. 

Present  Tense. 

SUBJUNCTIVE  MOOD. 

Pluperfect  Tense. 

Perfect  Tense. 

Imperfect  Tense. 

Present  Tense. 
POTENTIAL  MOOD. 
Present  Tense. 
IMPERATIVE  MOOD. 
Second  Future  Tense. 
First  Future  Tense. 
Pluperfect  Tense. 

Perfect  Tense. 

Imperfect  Tense. 

Present  Tense. 

INDICATIVE  MOOD. 

ACTIVE  VOICE. 


0 


^~s 

I] 


First  Future  Tense. 
Pluperfect  Tense. 
Perfect  Tense. 
Imperfect  Tense. 
Present  Tense. 
SUBJUNCTIVE  MOOD. 
Pluperfect  Tense. 
Perfect  Tense. 
Imperfect  Tense. 
Present  Tense. 
POTENTIAL  MOOD. 
Present  Tense. 
IMPERATIVE  MOOD. 
Second  Future  Tense. 
First  Future  Tense. 
Pluperfect  Tense. 

Perfect  Tense. 

Imperfect  Tense. 

Present  Tense. 

INDICATIVE  MOOD. 

PASSIVE  VOICE. 


In  teaching  what  resembles  a  certain  tower  of  old  times, 
and  what,  from  the  confusion  it  produces,  may  also  not  improp- 
erly be  called  Bab-el,  it  is  expected  that  the  child  should 
learn  not  only  the  names  of  the  voices,  moods  and  tenses,  but 
the  distinctions  that  are  said  to  exist  between  them.  But  this 
must  be  impossible,  for  the  builders  of  the  tower  do  not  always 
agree  in  their  definitions  and  explanations,  and  when  they  hap- 
pen to  agree,  they  cannot  always  make  themselves  understood. 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  reconcile  them,  but  shall  endeavor  to 
show  the  absurdity  of  the  whole  structure 

14* 


162  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

The  bases  of  the  two  towers  are  the  two  voices.  Let  us 
look  at  them.  The  whole  passive  voice  owes  its  existence  to 
the  fact  that,  in  Latin,  there  is  something  of  the  kind,  as  has 
been  shown  on  page  1-15.  This  voice  is  formed  by  adding  the 
perfect  participle  of  any  verb  to  some  tense  or  combination  of 
the  verb  Be  ;  as,  I  am  diseased  ;  she  was  concerned,  &c.  It  has 
been  shown  that  the  perfect  participle  is  an  adjective  qualify- 
ing nouns  or  pronouns,  as  other  adjectives  do.  And  in  this 
case,  we  might  say  I  am  sick,  instead  of  I  am  diseased,  and 
she  was  anxious,  for  she  was  concerned.  No  one  denies  that 
diseased  and  concerned  qualify  the  nominatives  /  and  she,  as 
sick  and  anxious  do ;  then  why  not  call  them  adjectives  at 
once  ?  and  as  the  child  is  supposed  to  know  how  to  conjugate 
the  verb  to  be,  and  knows  what  an  adjective  is,  why  compel 
him  to  learn  five  moods,  twenty  tenses,  and  a  hundred  and 
twenty  persons,  for  the  sake  of  a  mere  notion  called  a  passive 
voice  ?  Many  perfect  participles  have  adjectives  nearly  synony- 
mous; and  what  reason  is  there  for  restricting  the  passive 
voice  to  participles,  when  they  are  situated  and  used  like  the 
adjectives,  and  in  some  cases  mean  the  same  thing?  If  the 
child  knows  the  forms  of  the  verb  Be,  he  can  place  after  them 
any  participle  or  adjective  that  expresses  his  thought,  without 
knowing  or  caring  whether  the  phrase  is  a  passive  verb  or  not. 

Some  grammar-makers,  and  many  teachers,  have  had  the 
good  sense  to  reject  the  passive  voice,  but  several  authors  still 
retain  it,  and,  useless  as  it  is,  it  will  not  be  dropped  without  a- 
struggle.  Dr.  Crombie,  one  of  the  best  modern  grammarians, 
rejects  the  passive  voice,  and  Bosworth,  whose  Anglo-Saxon 
Grammar  is  also  a  precious  English  grammar,  says,  "  If  these 
cases  be  rejected  by  common  consent  from  English  nouns, 
why  may  not  the  passive  voice,  and  all  the  moods  and  tenses 
formed  by  auxiliaries  ?  We  shall  then  see  this  language  in 
its  primitive  simplicity.  Dr.  Wallis,  one  of  our  oldest  and 
best  grammarians,  has  divested  the  English  of  its  Latinized 
forms,  and,  when  speaking  of  his  predecessors,  says  "  —  and 
here  he  quotes  the  sentence  already  given  on  page  149. 

Dr.  Webster,  who  preceded  Murray,  and,  notwithstanding 
all  his  learning  and  good  sense,  was  superseded  by  him,  says 
in  the  first  edition  of  his  Grammar,  "  As  to  passive  verbs,  we 
have  no  such  thing  in  our  language.  I  cannot  better  express 
my  ideas  on  this  subject  than  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Ash,  who 
observes  that, '  Properly  speaking  there  is  no  passive  verb  in 
the  English  language  ;  for  though  I  am  loved  is  commonly 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  163 

called  a  passive  verb,  yet  loved  is  no  part  of  the  verb,  but  a 
participle  or  adjective,  derived  from  the  verb  love.' " 

Let  us  leave  the  passive  voice,  then,  with  but  one  remark, 
to  show  how  carelessly  the  verb  has  been  defined  by  Murray 
and  his  followers.  They  say,  "  A  verb  is  a  loord  that  signi- 
fies to  be,  to  do,  or  to  suffer ;  as,  I  am,  I  rule,  I  am  ruled" 
The  child,  of  course,  concludes  that  I-am-ruled  is  a  word,  for 
it  is  a  verb,  and  Murray  says  a  verb  is  a  word,  and  a  word  is 
but  one  word.  If  the  definition  be  correct,  no  passive  verb 
conforms  to  it,  but  the  passive  voice  furnishes  some  frightful 
words,  as  I-might-have-been-loved ;  If-I-shall-have-been-loved, 
&c.  &c.  The  definition  should  read,  "A  verb  is  a  phrase  that 
signifies,  —  according  to  its  meaning ! " 

Having  despatched  the  voices,  let  us  look  at  the  moods. 
Of  these,  as  we  have  seen,  the  earlier  and  better  grammarians 
had  none ;  for,  allowing  but  two  tenses  to  English  verbs,  they 
had  nothing  to  make  moods  of.  Murray  found  four  in  the 
old  British  Grammar,  and  he  added  a  fifth,  which  he  separated 
from  the  subjunctive  of  the  Latin  and  of  the  British  Grammar, 
and  called  the  potential.  This  was  the  greatest  departure  of 
Mr.  Murray  from  the  model  he  followed,  and  it  is  rather 
amusing  to  see  that  one  of  his  followers  has  transferred  the 
whole  potential  mood  of  Murray,  not  back  to  the  subjunctive, 
whence  it  was  taken,  but  to  the  indicative  !  If  such  transfers 
can  be  made,  there  certainly  cannot  be  a  very  definite  line 
between  the  several  moods,  —  no  line  that  a  child  can  ever 
discover ;  and  will  not  the  absurdity  of  such  distinctions  cause 
all  the  moods  to  coalesce  at  last  into  one,  as  it  was  at  the 
beginning  ? 

The  infinitive  mood  we  have  shown  to  be  a  mere  noun. 
The  imperative  differs  no  more  from  the  indicative  than  every 
verb  that  asks  a  question  does.  Depart  ye,  is  the  imperative  if 
it  have  a  period  or  note  of  admiration  after  it,  and  the  indicative 
if  it  have  a  mark  of  interrogation.  "  Depart  ye,  and  begone  ! M 
"  Depart  ye  so  soon  ?  "  This  may  not  prove  that  there  is  no 
imperative,  but  it  does  prove  that  if  we  have  an  imperative, 
we  ought,  for  the  same  reason,  to  have  an  interrogative  mood. 

Murray  says,  "  The  nature  of  a  mood  may  be  more  intel- 
ligibly explained  to  the  scholar  by  observing,  that  it  consists 
in  the  change  which  the  verb  undergoes  to  signify  various 
intentions  of  the  mind,  and  various  modifications  and  circum- 
stances of  action."  Let  us  try  this  explanation,  which  Murray 
says  is  so  much  better  than  his  definition.  "Love  ye"  says 


164  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

he,  "  is  the  second  person  plural  of  the  imperative  mood.  Ye 
love"  he  says,  "  is  the  second  person  plural  of  the  indicative 
mood,  present  tense,  and  If  ye  love  is  the  subjunctive  present, 
second  person  plural."  As  no  one  will  pretend,  I  trust,  that  the 
pronoun  ye,  or  the  conjunction  if,  is  any  part  of  the  verb,  the 
scholar  may  reasonably  ask,  "  What  change  does  the  verb 
undergo  to  signify  various  intentions  of  the  mind,"  &c.  ?  It 
does  no  such  thing.  The  verb  undergoes  no  change. 

If  mood  denotes  "  the  manner  in  which  the  verb  is  employed," 
as  Murray  and  his  followers  say,  then  who  is  to  determine 
how  many  forms  of  speech,  or  manners  of  using  the  verb,  there 
are  in  English.  Mr.  Murray  says, "  The  indicative  mood  simply 
indicates  or  declares  a  thing,  or  asks  a  question."  Here  are 
two  forms  of  expression  as  different  as  two  can  be,  for  when 
a  man  asks  a  question,  he  does  not  indicate  or  declare  any- 
thing, and  he  generally  changes  the  place  of  the  nominative. 
Mr.  Murray  seems  to  have  had  a  notion  that  he  was  embark- 
ing on  an  ocean  without  a  shore  when  he  promulgated  his 
system  of  moods,  for  he  says,  after  making  five  moods,  "  It  is 
necessary  to  set  proper  bounds  to  this  business.  Instead, 
therefore,  of  making  a  separate  mood  for  every  auxiliary  verb, 
and  introducing  moods  interrogative,  optative,  promissive, 
hortative,  precative,  &c.,  we  have  exhibited  such  only  as  are 
obviously  distinct,"  &c.  He  certainly  is  economical,  when, 
under  the  imperative  mood,  he  includes  all  verhs  that  com- 
mand, exhort,  entreat,  or  permit,  that  is,  the  imperative,  hor- . 
tative,  precative  and  permissive  moods. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  that,  when  I  was  myself  in  the 
right  mood,  and  had  leisure,  I  would  carry  out  Mr.  Murray's 
suggestion,  and  see  how  many  moods  can  be  made,  as  good  as 
his  specimens.  There  would  be  the  progressive  mood,  as, 
lam  trying,  I  was  learning;  emphatic  mood,  as,  I  do  love,  I  did 
love  ;  the  optative  mood,  which  omits  the  nominative,  "  Would 
it  were  so  !  "  The  regrettive  mood,  "  O  that  I  were  as  in  days 
past!"  for,  why  is  not  O  as  much  entitled  to  create  a  mood, 
as  if  or  though  ?  —  The  expostulatory  mood,  "  What !  kill  me 
for  doing  my  duty ! "  &c.  &c.  As  these  moods  would  have  a 
due  variety  of  tenses,  if  the  tower  of  Babel  is  not  already 
"  in  the  clouds,"  it  may  easily  be  raised  there,  though  I  should 
be  ashamed  to  have  Him  who  gave  us  the  noble  faculty  of 
speech,  "  come  down  to  see  what  folly  the  sons  of  men  had 
builded." 

The  whole   system   of  moods   seems   to   me   sufficiently 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  165 

ridiculous  to  authorize  this  treatment  of  it ;  but  I  must  proceed 
to  examine  the  claims  of  what  are  called  the  tenses. 

Dr.  Wallis,  Dr.  Priestley,  Dr.  Crombie,  and  other  learned 
men,  could  see  but  two  tenses  in  our  language;  for  they  con- 
sidered tense  to  have  the  same  meaning  in  English  as  in 
Latin,  viz.,  not  time,  but  extension,  from  the  Latin  word  tensus, 
the  tenses  in  Latin  being  extensions  of  the  simple  roots,  an 
addition  to  them,  or  merely  by  a  change  of  termination.  Dr. 
Lowth  could  not  conceive  of  a  language  without  a  verb  to 
express  future  time,  and  he  added  a  future  tense  to  the  present 
and  past  of  his  predecessors.  He  used  a  phrase,  however,  to 
supply  what  he  supposed  to  be  a  defect,  and  set  an  example 
that  was  pregnant  with  mischief;  for,  from  that  time  to  this, 
the  number  has  gone  on  increasing,  until  it  has  doubled,  and 
more  than  doubled,  if  the  hypothetical  tense  of  a  late  author 
is  to  be  accepted  by  the  faithful,  and  duly  canonized  by 
authority. 

We  allow,  then,  two  forms,  which,  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  word,  we  are  willing  to  call  tenses,  and  we  call  them  pres- 
ent and  past,  not  because  they  actually  denote  any  division  of 
time,  but  because  they  appear  to  do  so.  The  authors  of  our 
Latinized  grammars  seem  to  have  thought  that  we  could  not 
speak  of  the  future  and  other  divisions  of  time,  without  setting 
apart  some  phrase  for  the  purpose,  although  our  ancestors 
contrived  to  do  this  without  any  grammars.  But  while  they 
were  about  it,  they  should  either  have  given  us  all  the  modes 
of  expressing  future  time,  or  none  of  them.  They  no  doubt 
singled  out  shall  and  will  as  signs  of  this  tense,  because  the 
word  to  is  omitted  after  them ;  but  we  have  other  phrases  in 
which  the  to  is  omitted,  and  a  great  variety  of  ways  in  which 
future  time  is  as  well  expressed.  Indeed,  I  should  not  be  at 
all  afraid  to  assert  that  no  verb  ever  expresses  time,  and  of 
all  tenses,  that  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  most  exact  in  this 
respect  is  really  the  most  indefinite.  /  love,  for  instance,  is 
said  to  denote  the  present  time ;  but  it  does  no  such  thing. 
When  I  say,  "  I  love  every  good  man  that  I  see,"  do  I  mean 
that  I  only  do  so  at  this  moment?  Far  from  it;  I  mean  to 
say  that  /  have  loved  them,  do  love  them,  and  shall  love  them. 
Hold  and  do  are  said  to  be  present  tenses,  but  when  Hamlet 
says  to  Horatio,  "Hold  you  the  watch  to-night?"  and  Horatio 
says,  "  We  do,  my  Lord,"  what  are  hold  and  do  but  future 
tenses,  since  the  watch  was  not  yet  set  ?  Go,  is  a  present 
tense  in  good  repute,  but  when  Peter  says,  "  I  go  a  fishing," 


166  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

and  his  companions  say,  "  We  also  go  with  thee,"  go,  with- 
out any  auxiliary,  makes  an  excellent  future.  lam,  of  course, 
is  the  pattern  of  present  tenses,  and  yet  we  constantly  say, 
I  am  to  be  punished,  I  am  to  die,  &c.  &c.,  in  which  sentences 
am  is  as  good  a  future  as  any  in  the  world.  Henry  Martin, 
in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  says,  "  One  thing  I  have  found,  that 
there  are  but  two  tenses  in  Persian  and  English.  In  the 
sentence,  '  I  will  go,'  the  principal  verb  is  /  will,  which 
is  the  present  tense.  In  '/  mould  have  gone,1  the  principal 
verb  is  /  would  or  J  willed.  Should,  also,  is  a  preterite, 
namely,  shalled,  from  to  shall"  [See  Martin's  Life,  p.  312.] 
Bosworth,  after  making  the  above  extract  from  Martin,  adds, 
"  He  might  have  added  that  go  and  have,  after  will  and 
should,  were  verbs  in  the  infinitive  mood."  The  excellent 
Martin  probably  had  never  seen  any  English  grammar  but 
Murray's,  and  no  doubt  thought  he  had  made  a  great  dis- 
covery when  he  made  the  declaration  I  have  quoted.  If  it  took 
the  gifted  Martin  so  long  to  see  his  error,  how  long  will  it  take 
the  less  gifted  millions,  who  are  in  the  same  darkness,  to 
grope  their  way  into  the  same  degree  of  light  ? 

Will  not  the  very  general  belief  that  the  verb  expresses 
time  excuse  me  for  dwelling  a  moment  longer  on  this  sub- 
ject ?  Mr.  Murray  says,  I  may  go,  I  can  go,  I  must  go,  are 
present  tenses,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  phrases  in 
which  the  time  is  more  indefinite.  I  may  go  now  or  next 
year  ;  I  can  go  next  year,  but  not  to-day  ;  I  must  go  then,  if 
I  do  not  now.  What  is  called  the  present  tense  seems  to- 
speak  of  all  time,  or  without  reference  to  any  time,  and  hence 
we  use  it  to  express  propositions  that  are  true  at  all  times ;  as, 
"  Two  and  two  are  four."  "  The  wicked  flee  when  no  man 
pursueth."  "  The  poor  work  for  the  rich."  If  the  English 
language,  therefore,  possesses  any  tense  capable  in  itself  of 
expressing  futurity,  that  tense  is  what  Murray  and  his  follow- 
ers call  the  present!  Nothing,  too,  is  more  common  than  to 
use  this  present  tense,  when  we  are  speaking  of  past  occur- 
rences. Any  preacher  would  think  it  right  to  say,  "  Jesus 
sends  away  the  multitude  and  retires  apart  to  pray."  The 
historian  says,  "  Alfred,  encouraged,  takes  a  harp  and  enters 
the  camp  of  the  enemy."  If  it  be  said,  this  is  figurative 
language,  I  grant  it ;  but  it  is  said  of  past  events,  and  it  is  not 
ungrammatical. 

Mr.   Murray  places  shatt  and  will  among  the  defective 
verbs,  because,  he  says,  they  lack  some  forms  of  a  regular 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  167 

verb.  He  calls  shall  and  will  present  tenses,  and  gives  should 
and  would  as  their  past  or  imperfect  tenses.  But.  if  shall  and 
will  are  never  used  wiihout  an  infinitive  after  them,  if  they 
make  that  infinitive  future,  and  are  never  used  except  to 
denote  future  time,  how  can  he  consistently  call  shall  and  will 
present  tenses  ?  And  if  he  allows,  as  he  does,  that  they  are 
always  signs  of  the  future,  how  can  they  have  the  past  tenses 
should  and  would  ?  But  should  and  would  are  as  much  future 
as  shall  and  will;  for,  when  I  say,  "  I  should  go  next  week,  if 
he  would  let  me,"  in  what  does  the  futurity  of  the  expression 
differ  from  that  of  "  I  shall  go  next  week,  if  he  will  let  me." 
So,  "  I  would  play  to-morrow,  if  I  could"  and,  "  I  will  play 
to-morrow,  if  I  can." 

If  I  will  my  property  to  my  son,  no  one  doubts  that  will  is 
a  present  tense ;  but,  if  I  will  an  action  instead,  the  will,  for- 
sooth, is  no  longer  present,  but  future  !  And  yet,  I  will  go, 
expresses  a  present  act  of  the  mind,  as  much  as  I  ivitt  my 
houses  and  lands.  This  has  generally  been  conceded  to  me 
by  teachers,  but  they  say  they  cannot  get  over  shall  so  easily. 
Let  us  see  what  Dr.  Crombie  says  of  this  auxiliary.  "  Shall 
is  unquestionably  a  derivative  from  the  Saxon  sceal,  I  owe  or 
I  ought,  and  was  originally  of  the  same  import.  I  shall 
denoted  It  is  my  duty,  and  was  precisely  synonymous  with 
debeo  in  Latin.  Chaucer  says,  "  The  faith  I  shall  to  God," 
that  is,  "  The  faith  I  owe  to  God."  "  Thou  shall  not  kill," 
that  is,  "  Thou  oughtest  not  to  kill."  In  this  sense,  shall  is  a 
present  tense,  and  denotes  present  duty  or  obligation.  But 
as  all  duties  and  all  commands,  though  present  in  respect  to 
their  obligation,  must  be  future  in  regard  to  their  execution, 
so,  by  a  natural  transition,  observable  in  most  languages,  this 
word,  significant  of  present  duty,  came  to  be  a  note  of  future 
time.  I  have  considered  it,  therefore,  as  a  present  tense, 
because,  1st,  it  originally  denoted  present  tense  ;  2d,  because  it 
still  retains  the  form  of  the  present ;  and,  3d,  because  it  is  no 
singular  thing  to  have  a  verb  in  the  present  tense  expressive 
of  future  time."  p.  140. 

When,  therefore,  we  say,  "  I  will  go,"  we  only  express  a 
present,  determination  to  do  an  action,  which  may  never  be 
done;  but  which,  if  done,  must  necessarily  be  subsequent  to 
the  act  of  the  will.  So  when  we  say,  "I  shall  go,"  we  ex- 
press a  present  obligation  so  imperative,  that  it  amounts  to  a 
determination,  to  go.  It  is  just  so  with  all  words  that  express 
any  act  of  volition.  "  I  wish  to  go,"  is  as  good  a  future  tense 


168  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

as  I  will  go ;  and  "  I  determine  to  go,"  is  as  good  a  future  as 
either  "  I  will  go,"  or  "  I  shall  go."  "  I  hope  to  go,"  "  I  ex- 
pect to  go,"  "  I  propose  to  go,"  "  I  intend  to  go,"  "  I  desire 
to  go,"  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  are  situated  exactly  like  "I  will  go," 
the  only  difference  being  the  omission  of  to  before  the  follow- 
ing infinitive,  an  accident  common  to  the  verbs  bid,  dare,  let, 
and  others,  as  well  as  to  these  mystified  auxiliaries. 

But  many  who  yield  that  the  passive  voice  is  unnecessary, 
that  the  moods  are  of  doubtful  character,  and  that  the  future 
tense  expresses  no  futurity,  make  a  stand  at  the  perfect  and 
pluperfect  tenses,  and  refuse  to  give  them  up.  It  was  behind 
this  tense  that  my  friend  at  the  Normal  School,  to  whom  I 
have  before  alluded,  entrenched  himself;  for  he  could  not 
allow,  that,  in  the  sentence,  "  I  have  learned  my  lesson," 
have  could  be  the  principal  verb ;  for,  says  he,  "  I  have 
learned  my  lesson,"  is  as  different  in  meaning  from  "  I  have 
my  lesson  learned,"  as  sorrel  horse  is  from  horse  sorrel. 
Now,  it  is  not  pretended  that,  when  the  participle  is  placed 
before  the  noun,  its  meaning  is  exactly  the  same  as  when  it  is 
placed  after  it,  but  only  that  it  is  still  a  participle  qualifying 
the  noun.  When  I  say  "  I  have  learned  a  lesson,"  it  is  clear 
that  I  have  it  in  the  condition  which  is  called  learri'd.  So  it 
has  been  said  it  is  absurd  to  say,  "  I  have  my  purse  lost,"  for 
"  I  have  lost  my  purse,"  because,  says  the  objector,  "  I  can- 
not have  what  is  lost."  This  reasoning  amounts  to  nothing ; 
for  lost  expresses  the  condition  of  the  purse,  and  modifies  the 
meaning  of  have,  very  much  as  the  negative  not  does  in  the 
sentence,  "  I  have  not  my  purse  ;"  and  who  will  pretend  that 
this  latter  phrase  is  not  good  English,  because  it  is  somewhat 
paradoxical  ? 

This  objection  appears  with  more  force  in  the  perfect  tense 
of  verbs  that  are  said  to  be  intransitive ;  as,  "  I  have  gone," 
"  I  have  been,"  "  I  have  sinned."  I  have  no  doubt  that  these 
participles  are  mere  adjectives,  and  qualify  the  nominative 
to  the  verb,  as  if  the  verb  were  what  is  called  passive ;  for  I 
have  gone  is  equivalent  to  I  am  gone ;  been  expresses  the 
condition  of  J,  for  the  objector  will  not  admit  that  be  ex- 
presses any  action  ;  and  "  I  have  sinned,"  is  equivalent  to  "  I 
am  a  sinner;"  in  which  case,  sinner  qualifies  the  nominative 
before  the  verb,  as  every  nominative  after  a  neuter  verb 
qualifies  the  nominative  before  it. 

Dr.  Crombie  had  a  right  idea  of  this  tense  when  he  said, 
"  It  is  compounded  of  the  present  tense  of  the  verb  denoting 


ENGLISH    GRAMMAR.  169 

possession  and  a  perfect  participle.  It  clearly  refers  to  present 
time;  this,  indeed,  the  composition  of  the  tense  manifestly 
evinces."  If  I  have,  then,  is  the  present  tense,  and  ivritten  is 
a  participle,  they  must  be  called  by  their  right  names  and 
treated  accordingly,  whether  we  can  tell  what  the  participial 
adjective  qualifies  or  not. 

I  suspect  that  if  participles  and  adjectives  in  English  were 
varied  by  gender  and  number,  as  they  are  in  French  and 
Latin,  we  should  soon  see  what  they  agreed  with  in  these 
respects,  and,  of  course,  what  they  qualified. 

The  participle  amatus,  is  not  only  varied  in  connection 
with  the  verb  sum  to  express  the  two  numbers,  but  also  to 
express  the  three  genders.  Thus  the  Latins  say : 

Amattts  est,       He      (a  man)    has  been  loved. 
Amata  est,         She  (a  woman)  has  been  loved. 
AmatuTW  est,      It        (a  thing)    has  been  loved. 
Amatz  sumus,   We      (men)      have  been  loved. 
Amatffi  sumus,  We    (women)    have  been  loved. 
Amata  sumus,   We     (things)    have  been  loved. 
The  French  say : 

L'homme  que  j'ai  vu; 

The  man  that  I  have  seen. 
La  femme  que  j'ai  vue ; 

The  woman  that  I  have  seen. 
Les  hommes  que  j'ai  vus ; 

The  men  that  I  have  seen. 
Les  femmes  que  j'ai  vues ; 
The  women  that  I  have  seen. 

In  these  sentences,  the  French  participle  is  varied  to  agree 
with  the  noun,  or  with  its  relative  que. 

In  Latin,  the  phrase  I  have  seen  is  expressed  by  one  word, 
vidi.  But  in  the  indicative,  perfect,  pluperfect  and  future 
tense  of  their  passive  voice,  amatus  sum,  amatus  eram,  ama- 
tus  ero,  sum  is  the  only  Latin  for  I  am,  eram  for  /  was,  ero  for 
I  shall  be  ;  and  yet  these  tenses  are  always  translated,  I  have 
been  loved,  I  had  been  loved,  I  shall  have  been  loved  ;  and  not, 
I  am  loved,  I  was  loved,  I  shall  be  loved.  The  French  have  a 
similar  idiom,  and  say,  "  Je  me  suis  blesse,"  which  we  trans- 
late "  I  have  hurt  myself;"  and  yet  suis  is  the  French  for  am, 
and  not  for  have.  As  there  was  a  time  when  French  was 
more  fashionable  in  England  than  English  itself,  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  if  some  idioms  have  become  common  to  both 
15 


170  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

languages.  When,  therefore,  these  classical  cavillers  account 
for  sum's  meaning  I  have  in  French,  or  /  have  been  in  Latin, 
it  will  be  time  enough  for  them  to  complain  of  the  obscurity 
that  seems  to  hang  over  the  English  use  of  have  for  am,  or 
of  had  for  was. 

Whenever  I  have  repeated  what  all  the  philosophers  have 
asserted,  that  the  verb  is  a  word  expressing  what  is  done,  the 
grammatikins  have  always  thrown  the  verb  to  be  at  me,  and 
demanded  whether  that  expressed  any  action.  If,  as  is  pre- 
tended, it  expresses  abstract  being,  without  the  idea  of  action, 
it  would  only  be  one  exception  to  the  most  extensive  rule  in 
our  language ;  and  if  the  existence  of  a  single  exception  be 
good  ground  for  rejecting  a  rule  or  a  principle,  less  would  be 
left  of  Murray's  Grammar  than  remained  of  the  two  feline 
combatants  on  the  field  of  Kilkenny.  I  cannot  consent  to 
argue  this  question  at  length,  for,  if  the  teacher  thinks  that  be 
never  expresses  any  kind  of  action,  he  can  consider  it  an  ex- 
ception, although  I  do  not.  I  shall,  therefore,  content  myself 
with  only  asking  how  a  person  can  be  active  if  be  does  not 
express  any  action  ?  When  God  said,  "  Let  light  be,"  who 
supposes  that  light  was,  and  nothing  was  done  ?  When  the 
Creator  called  himself  the  Great  I  AM,  did  he  mean  to  call 
himself  the  Great  Inactive  ?  When  I  tell  a  coward  to  stand 
and  be  a  man,  do  I  merely  tell  him  to  continue  to  exist  a  noun 
of  the  masculine  gender  ?  When  I  add  be  to  a  noun,  whence 
comes  the  activity  expressed  by  the  compound  ?  Is  there  no 
action  in  ie-fool,  ie-friend,  ie-head,  fe-siege  ?  Numb  is  an 
adjective,  but  is  Jack  Frost  idle  when  he  ie-numbs  us  ? 
When  a  learned  teacher  once  told  me  that  he  could  do  noth- 
ing with  a  class  of  teachers  after  I  had  ie-grammared  them, 
did  he  mean  that  my  teaching  produced  no  effect  ? 

So  with  the  division  of  verbs  into  active,  passive,  and 
neuter ;  I  see  no  necessity,  and  less  propriety,  in  any  such  dis- 
tinction. I  have  shown  that  I  am  sick,  he  is  dead,  &c.,  are  as 
good  passive  verbs  as  I  am  diseased,  he  is  deceased,  &c.  Mur- 
ray says,  "  A  verb  passive  expresses  a  passion  or  a  suffering, 
or  the  receiving  of  an  action,  and  necessarily  implies  an 
object  acted  upon,  and  an  agent  by  which  it  is  acted  upon ; 
as,  Penelope  is  loved  by  me."  Me  is  the  agent,  then,  in- 
tended by  Mr.  Murray.  An  agent  necessarily  implies  action, 
and  the  action  must  be  expressed  by  the  help  of  the  verb  is, 
if  not  solely  by  it.  Suppose  the  sentence  were,  "  Penelope 
is  offended  with  me,  notwithstanding  I  love  her ;"  me,  I  sup- 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  171 

pose,  is  the  agent  implied,  and  Penelope  is  only  the  nomi- 
native, or,  as  Murray  and  his  followers  say,  the  subject  of 
the  verb.  This  is  the  same,  as  if,  in  regard  to  the  sentence, 
"  Penelope  hates  me,"  I  should  say,  I  do  the  hating,  and 
Penelope  is  the  subject  of  it.  I  may  not  have  a  distinct 
idea  of  nonsense,  but  this  comes  up  to  my  poor  idea  of  it. 
How  simple,  compared  with  such  absurdity,  is  the  grammar 
of  Dr.  Wallis,  which  would  say  that  Penelope  is  the  agent  of 
is,  and  loved  or  offended,  like  sick  or  mad,  are  only  the  adjec- 
tives qualifying  Penelope,  or  expressing  the  condition  of  her 
mind. 

This  theory  of  the  passive  voice  obliges  those  who  adopt 
it,  to  give  up  the  true  definition  of  a  nominative,  and  to  say 
that  it  is  the  subject,  and  not  the  agent  of  the  verb;  ft  most 
unfortunate  result,  if  only  the  confusion  arising  from  a  new 
use  of  a  well-established  expression  be  considered ;  fdr,  if  it 
be  true  that,  in  the  sentence?  "  I  love  Penelope,"  or  "  I  study 
history,"  I  is  the  subject  of  love  and  study,  then  Penelope  is 
not  the  subject  of  my  tender  thoughts,  and  history  is  not  the 
subject  I  am  studying,  although  I  meant  to  say  they  were. 
When  we  say,  Victoria  governs  Ireland,  we  of  course  must 
mean  that  she  is  the  subject  of  the  action  expressed  by  the 
verb  governs  ! 

Again ;  Murray  says,  "  A  verb  neuter  expresses  neither 
action  nor  passion,  but  being,  or  a  state  of  being ;  as,  I  sit,  he 
lives,  they  sleep."  When  the  master  tells  the  child  to  sit, 
then,  he  tells  him  to  do  nothing!  I  sit,  and  I  am  seated, 
mean  the  same  thing ;  but,  according  to  Murray's  definition, 
the  latter  expresses  passion  or  suffering,  and  the  former  does 
not !  If  any  believer  in  such  stuff  were  compelled  to  sit  three 
hours  on  the  hard  and  narrow  seats  to  which  children  are 
confined  in  some  of  our  district  schools,  without  any  support 
to  their  backs,  or  any  resting  place  for  their  feet,  we  are 
inclined  to  think  he  would  find  action  and  suffering  enough 
in  the  neuter  verb  sit,  and  if  he  did  not  get  into  a  passion, 
also,  he  would  be  a  miracle  of  patience. 

Moreover,  when  T  say,  "  He  sits  on  a  horse,"  "  He  lives 
upon  fish,"  "  They  sleep  in  pain,"  these  verbs,  we  are  told, 
"  neither  express  action,  nor  passion  or  suffering,"  but  "  being 
or  a  state  of  being."  And  yet,  although  the  neuter  verbs  ex- 
press neither  action  nor  passion,  Murray  says,  "  They  may 
properly  be  called  intransitive,  because  the  effect  is  confined 
within  the  subject,  and  does  not  pass  over  to  any  object" 


172  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

The  effect,  then,  of  sitting  on  a  horse  is  confined  to  the  rider, 
and  the  horse  never  feels  any  effect  from  his  load!!  The 
effect  of  living  upon  fish  is  confined  to  the  eater,  and  not  felt 
by  the  fish  !  When  the  watchman  sleeps,  the  effect  is  confined 
to  himself,  and  nobody  else  suffers !  The  fact  is,  the  action 
of  every  neuter  verb  may  he  conveyed  to  an  object  by  a  prep- 
osition, and,  although  there  may  be  a  difference  between 
such  objects  and  those  of  active  verbs,  they  are  objects  still. 
If  I  send  a  child  to  school,  school  is  just  as  much  an  object  of 
the  mission  as  child  is.  Prepositions,  says  Mr.  Murray,  serve 
to  connect  words  and  show  the  relation  between  them.  If 
this  means  any  thing,  it  means  that  prepositions  connect  verbs 
with  objects,  and  show  the  direction  of  the  action  expressed 
by  the  verb. 

I  hope  these  remarks  upon  the  common  definition  of  verbs 
will  not  be  set  down  as  unimportant  cavils,  for  they  are  serious 
objections ;  no  system  liable  to  such  cavils  being  fitted  for  the 
use  of  children,  or  capable  of  being  explained  to  the  satis- 
faction of  any  mature,  unbiased  mind;  for,  "  what  reason  never 
dictated,  reason  can  never  explain." 

My  list  of  adverbs,  and  my  use  of  them,  do  not  differ  ma- 
terially from  Murray's.  Prepositions  I  define  to  be  words 
showing  the  direction  of  some  action  or  tendency  previously 
expressed,  and  this  is  strictly  true  of  all  real  prepositions, 
except  of,  which,  since  it  dropped  an/,  seems  to  express  the 
relation  of  possession,  unlike  its  original,  off.  Concerning, 
touching,  during,  pending,  and  such  words,  are  participles,  or, 
as  I  call  them,  adjectives,  and  not  prepositions. 

I  allow  Murray's  list  of  conjunctions  to  keep  the  name,  but 
I  do  not  divide  them  into  copulative  and  disjunctive,  because 
if  a  conjunction  connects,  it  is  idle  to  call  it  copulative,  and 
absurd  to  call  it  disjunctive.  But  and  or  connect  sentences  as 
much  as  and  does,  and  the  sentences  are  none  the  less  con- 
nected because  there  seems  to  be  "  an  opposition  of  meaning." 
I  say  seems,  for  it  admits  of  question  whether,  in  the  example  of 
opposition  given  by  Mr.  Murray,  "  They  came  with  her,  but 
they  went  away  without  her,"  there  is  any  other  "  opposition 
of  meaning"  than  in  any  two  sentences  connected  by  and  ;  as, 
"  He  preached  peace,  and  practised  war."  Nay,  in  the  sen- 
tence selected  as  an  example  by  Mr.  Murray,  and  may  be 
substituted  for  but  without  altering  the  sense  ;  "  They  came 
•with  her,  and  went  away  without  her." 

As  it  regards  interjections,  none  are  allowed  to  be  such, 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  173 

but  those  natural  sounds,  which  can  hardly  be  considered  a 
part  of  arbitrary  language.  Silence  !  Hail !  Hush  !  and  such 
words,  belong  to  other  parts  of  speech.  There  seems  to  be 
no  doubt  that  the  interjection  was  the  first  part  of  speech 
formed ;  for  man,  like  the  lower  animals,  has  a  natural  lan- 
guage, which  he  uses  before  he  learns  that  which  is  purely 
conventional.  The  infant  makes  its  wants  known  long  before 
it  can  talk.  That  the  first  man,  when  created,  resembled  an 
infant  in  this  respect,  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  to  doubt ; 
for  the  first  notice  we  have  of  his  uttering  any  words,  is  when, 
the  animals  were  presented  to  him  to  see  what  he  would 
call  them.  And  what  did  he  call  them?  By  some  name, 
undoubtedly,  that  expressed  some  peculiarity  ;  as,  in  English, 
we  have  a  few  significant  words,  buzz,  hum,  hiss,  rush,  bawl, 
blow,  &c.,  &c.  This  would  indicate  that,  next  to  his  natural 
language,  he  must  have  used  nouns;  and  infants  do  the  same. 
The  young  being  says,  "  Ma,  baby,  bread,"  and  the  mother 
understands  him  as  well  as  if  he  used  a  verb,  and  was  fa- 
miliar with  its  hundred  variations.  If  it  be  said  that  we  are 
told  that  God  spoke  to  Adam  before  he  named  the  animals,  it 
can  hardly  be  supposed  that  he  did  this  literally ;  and,  if  he 
did,  we  are  not  told  that  Adam  answered.  The  child  often, 
understands  what  is  said  to  him  long  before  he  can  utter  a 
word  in  reply.  Men  make  words  only  as  fast  as  they  need 
them  to  express  ideas,  and  nations  having  the  fewest  ideas, 
have  the  fewest  words.  This  simple  and  natural  theory  is 
not  contradicted  by  Scripture  or  human  experience.  I  should 
have  preferred  the  name  exclamations  for  such  words  as  are 
called  interjections,  but  I  have  thought  it  prudent  to  continue 
the  terms  in  common  use,  and,  except  in  calling  the  nomina- 
tive case  an  agent  and  the  objective  an  object,  I  do  not  know 
that  I  have  altered  a  single  term,  although  the  necessity  of 
using  many  has  been  done  away,  such  as  the  names  of  the 
moods  and  tenses,  participles,  auxiliaries,  articles,  adjective 
pronouns,  possessives,  &c. 

Many  private  teachers  have  candidly  confessed  to  me  that 
the  reformation  I  proposed  was  very  desirable,  and  would 
greatly  reduce  the  labor  of  the  teacher,  while  it  enabled  the 
pupil  better  to  understand  and  use  the  language ;  but  an 
acquaintance  with  other  grammars  was  a  prerequisite  for 
admission  into  high  schools  and  colleges ;  and  a  pupil  would 
not  be  supposed  to  know  any  thing,  if  he  did  not  know 
the  popular  system,  although  familiar  with  the  works  of  all 
15* 


174  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

the  great  philologers,  who,  to  a  man,  reject  it.  Why  is  it  that 
reform  so  generally  commences  at  the  foot  of  the  educational 
ladder?  One  would  think  that,  where  there  is  the  most 
learning  there  would  be  the  most  enterprise,  the  most  inde- 
pendence ;  but  I  fear  that  those  who  accuse  the  higher  semi- 
naries of  proverbial  attachment  to  old  forms  and  fixed  abuses, 
do  them  no  injustice. 

In  my  visits  to  the  Institutes  of  New  York  and  Massa- 
chusetts, I  became  acquainted  with  more  than  a  thousand 
teachers,  and  I  am  not  aware  that  I  met  with  one  who  felt 
satisfied  with  any  grammar  that  he  had  seen,  and  very  few 
had  ever  been  able  to  make  the  study  of  grammar  an  agree- 
able exercise  to  their  pupils.  The  reason  is  obvious;  the 
teachers,  not  one  in  five  hundred  of  whom  had  studied 
Latin,  did  not  understand  the  mixed  Latino-English  grammar 
they  were  called  upon  to  teach,  and  how  could  they  explain 
it  to  their  pupils  ?  But,  give  them  the  pure  English  gram- 
mar I  have  endeavored  to  describe,  and  let  them  require 
their  pupils  to  write  English  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  read  and 
speak  it,  and  no  exercise  will  be  so  agreeable  to  the  child,  and 
so  useful  to  him  in  all  his  other  studies. 

May  I  be  excused,  if,  after  all  I  have  said  on  the  subject  of 
grammar,  I  say  a  few  words  more,  by  way  of  caution,  to 
teachers.  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  time  when  there  was 
so  much  need  of  care  and  activity  as  now,  to  prevent  the  cor- 
ruption and  decline  of  our  excellent  language.  The  press 
has  deluged  the  land  with  a  flood  of  books,  some  of  which 
are  worthy  of  the  best  age  of  English  literature,  but  the  mass 
of  which  are  to  be  shunned  for  their  faults  of  style,  as  much 
as  for  their  emptiness,  or  positively  demoralizing  tendency. 
The  teacher  who  wishes  to  make  a  selection  of  passages  con- 
taining false  grammar,  or  faulty  construction,  to  be  corrected 
by  his  pupils,  may  readily  find  abundant  materials  in  the 
light  literature,  as  the  heavy  trash  is  called,  of  the  present 
day.  He  will  find  novels,  tales  and  romances,  written  in  a 
style  often  inferior  to  the  sentimental  effusions  of  a  boarding- 
school  girl ;  nay,  he  will  even  find  many  volumes  written 
•with  the  perverse  intention  of  disregarding  every  rule  of 
English  grammar  and  orthography.  Works  of  the  Jack 
Downing  school,  witty  as  some  may  be,  have  done  more  mis 
chief  to  young  and  old,  in  a  Jiterary  point  of  view,  than  a 
regiment  of  well  qualified  teachers  can  undo  in  half  a 
century.  Our  newspapers,  too,  which,  without  pretending  to 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  175 

do  so,  exercise  a  powerful  influence  over  the  popular  style  of 
writing  and  speaking,  have,  with  few  exceptions,  stooped  to 
cater  to  the  vulgar  taste  for  cant  expressions  and  slang 
phrases ;  and  writers  who  aim  at  pure  and  elevated  English, 
bear  no  proportion  to  those  who  study  to  adulterate  and  de- 
stroy our  noble  tongue. 

Teachers,  therefore,  must  set  their  faces  sternly  against 
this  evil  tendency  of  the  times.  They  must  guard  against 
the  use  of  corrupt  expressions,  and  rigidly  prohibit  the  use  of 
them  in  the  conversation  and  compositions  of  their  pupils. 
They  must  be  careful  to  associate  more  with  persons  whose 
conversation  is  correct  and  refined.  They  must  set  a  watch 
over  themselves,  as  well  as  hold  one  over  their  pupils.  It 
was  my  custom  for  some  time,  until  I  had  established  a  sort 
of  public  standard  of  conversation  in  my  school,  to  reward  any 
pupil  who  detected  another  in  using  an  ungrammatical  or 
vulgar  expression,  or  even  in  pronouncing  a  word  improperly, 
by  giving  her  what  was  called  a  merit  or  good  mark  ;  and  if 
she  detected  me  in  any  such  misdemeanor,  she  was  entitled 
to  five  such  merits.  Every  expression  or  word  so  reported 
was  recorded  on  a  sheet  kept  for  the  purpose  in  a  conspicuous 
place,  and  the  consequence  was,  that,  in  less  than  a  year,  the 
record  sheet  was  laid  aside,  because  we  had  no  materials  to 
augment  it.  A  sheet  of  this  sort,  kept  without  any  promise 
of  reward,  will  be  found  highly  beneficial  to  both  teacher  and 
pupils,  and  will  do  more  to  banish  bad  language  and  bad 
pronunciation,  than  all  the  set  grammar  lessons  that  can  be 
given. 

I  have  gone  more  at  length  into  the  subject  of  grammar, 
because  I  think  that,  in  teaching  it,  we  have  departed  further 
from  the  truth  than  in  any  other  study  ;  and  we  have  done 
this  without  any  reason  or  justice.  Hundreds  of  enterprising 
teachers,  who  allow  the  justice  of  my  positions,  and  have 
been  desirous  to  attempt  the  reform  I  have  proposed,  assure 
me  that  they  have  been  unable  to  do  so,  because  the  com- 
mittees are  not  enlightened  on  the  subject,  or  are  unwilling  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  taking  the  lead.  In  this  exposure 
of  the  prevalent  system  of  English  grammar,  therefore,  I  have 
had  the  committees  as  well  as  the  teachers  in  view,  and  I  do 
earnestly  entreat  them  to  take  the  subject  into  the  most  serious 
consideration.  If  they  complain  of  my  radicalism,  let  them 
remember,  that  I  only  ask  them  to  eradicate  foreign  weeds, 
that  have  been  scattered  amongst  our  wheat,  and  have  well- 


176  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

nigh  choked  it.  Many  who  have  allowed  that  I  have  told  the 
truth  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  geography,  and  the  manner 
of  teaching  it,  are  afraid  of  my  ultraism  in  English  grammar ; 
but  let  such  be  assured  that  I  have  proposed  nothing  so  radi- 
cal in  grammar  as  they  have  approved  in  my  remarks  on 
geography.  Finally,  if  any  accuse  me  of  a  want  of  modesty 
in  so  often  referring  to  my  own  grammar,  let  such  remember 
that  there  is  no  similar  grammar  to  which  I  can  refer  ;  the 
grammars  in  common  use  being  based  mainly  on  the  abuses 
introduced  by  Mr.  Murray,  and  the  truly  philosophical  works, 
on  whose  authority  I  rely  for  all  I  have  asserted,  not  being 
accessible  to  one  teacher  in  a  thousand.  Indeed,  in  referring 
to  my  grammar,  I,  in  fact,  refer  to  Dr.  Wallis  and  other  men, 
whose  opinions  and  works  I  have  studied  with  ever  increasing 
wonder  at  the  perversity,  which,  for  so  long  a  season,  has  pre- 
ferred darkness  to  light,  falsehood  to  truth,  mystery  to  sim- 
plicity. 

Some  of  the  sternest  opponents  of  this  proposed  restoration 
of  English  grammar  to  its  original  simplicity,  look  with  favor 
upon  the  new  science  of  phonography,  and  are  ready  to  intro- 
duce it  into  common  use ;  and  yet  this  new  science  proposes  a 
revolution  immeasurably  greater  than  the  proposed  change  of 
grammar.  The  friends  of  phonography,  it  is  true,  propose  to 
discard  the  foreign  alphabet,  as  I  do  the  foreign  grammatical 
terms  ;  but  their  success  will  render  the  external  form  of  our 
language  a  dead  letter,  and  send  every  scholar  to  learn  his 
a,  b,  c,  again.  The  restored  system  of  English  grammar 
requires  no  study,  for  he  who  knows  Murray's  Grammar, 
knows  too  much  already,  and  has  only  to  drop  a  portion  of 
what  he  has  acquired.  A  person,  for  instance,  who  has 
studied  the  popular  grammar,  knows  what  an  article  is,  and 
what  an  adjective ;  and  when  he  is  told  to  class  the  articles 
with  adjectives,  it  costs  him  no  effort.  He  knows  what  a 
possessive  case  is,  and  by  what  noun  it  is  governed ;  and 
when  told  to  call  it  an  adjective  qualifying  the  same  noun 
that  is  falsely  said  to  govern  it,  he  finds  no  difficulty.  He 
knows  what  is  meant  by  auxiliary  verbs ;  and  he  has  only  to 
call  them  all  principal  verbs,  followed  by  a  participle,  which 
he  must  call  an  adjective,  or  by  an  infinitive  mood,  which  he 
must  call  a  noun,  governed  by  the  auxiliary,  or  rather,  the 
object  of  it.  My  system  alters  not  the  construction  of  any 
sentence,  or  the  orthography  of  any  word ;  it  only  removes 
what  does  not  belong  to  our  grammar,  and  by  so  doing  reduces 


ENGLISH   GRAMMAR.  177 

the  labor  of  teaching  it  more  than  one  half;  and,  by  making 
it  more  intelligible,  makes  it  more  pleasant  to  the  learner. 
Having  full  faith  in  the  practical  good  sense  of  my  country- 
men, I  have  full  faith  in  the  final  success  of  the  system  of 
English  that  I  would  restore,  and  I  mistake  greatly  the  signs 
of  the  times  if  the  restoration  is  not  speedily  to  be  accom- 
plished. 


178 


COMPOSITION. 

I  HAVE  already  said  that  every  step  in  English  grammar 
should  be  a  step  in  English  composition,  and  my  grammar 
provides  for  this  union  of  the  two.  I  have  said,  also,  that 
every  step  in  reading  and  spelling  should  be  made  an  exercise 
in  English  grammar  also.  But  little  remains,  therefore,  for 
me  to  say  on  the  subject  of  composition. 

The  orthographical  exercises  contained  in  the  Companion 
to  Spelling-Books,  the  copying  of  short  pieces  of  prose  and 
verse,  and  the  writing  of  easy  sentences  from  dictation,  made 
my  pupils  early  acquainted  with  the  mechanical  part  of  com- 
position, syllabication,  the  use  of  capitals,  the  division  of  sen- 
tences, punctuation,  &c.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  child 
seemed  to  require  some  higher  exercise,  I  was  accustomed  to 
call  up  the  little  class,  and  tell  them  a  short  story  or  anecdote, 
and  then  require  them  to  write  the  same  story  in  their  own 
language.  As  I  continued  this  course  for  many  years,  suitable 
stories  became  scarce,  and  at  last  I  was  obliged  to  make  them 
as  they  were  wanted.  This  labor  was  forced  upon  me  also 
by  the  fact,  that  the  pupils  read  more  story-books  than  I  did, 
and,  too  often,  some  one  of  the  class  was  not  a  stranger  to  the 
source  of  the  story  that  I  had  selected.  In  this  way  I  pre- 
pared a  vast  number  of  suitable  lessons,  of  which  I  published 
several  in  my  Primary  Reader,  to  which  the  young  teacher 
may  refer  for  materials,  until  he  finds  it  for  his  interest  him- 
self to  make  such  lessons  for  his  pupils. 

About  this  period  of  their  education,  my  pupils  generally 
began  to  study  some  other  language  than  their  own,  and  this 
afforded  me  a  fine  opportunity  to  forward  them  in  English 
composition.  I  required  most  of  their  translations  to  be 
written,  and  I  corrected  them  as  carefully  as  if  this  were  the 
primary  object  of  the  new  study.  Children,  who  are  required 
to  write  a  translation,  are  more  likely  to  examine  the  idioms 
of  both  languages  ;  and  as  they  are  only  to  supply  language 
to  clothe  the  ideas  of  the  foreign  author,  this  exercise  may  be 
required  much  earlier  than  a  set  composition. 

My  next  step  was  to  select  a  subject,  and  write  under  it 


COMPOSITION.  179 

such  notes  or  questions  as  would  guide  the  thoughts  of  the 
children,  and  suggest,  perhaps,  a  few  of  the  leading  ideas  con- 
nected with  the  subject.  The  subject,  with  notes,  written 
fairly  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  was  posted  up  in  the  school-room, 
so  that  no  pupil  could  plead  ignorance  of  what  was  required. 

When  the  pupil  had  but  a  small  stock  of  ideas,  and  was 
prepared  to  express  them,  I  was  accustomed  to  call  the  class 
around  me,  and  after  stating  the  subject  of  their  next  com- 
position, I  conversed  with  them  about  it,  allowing  them  to  ask 
questions  or  discuss  each  others'  opinions,  until  their  minds 
were  awake  to  the  bearings  of  the  subject,  and  then  I  sent 
them  away  to  write  what  they  had  gathered  from  the  con- 
versation. I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  children  were 
benefited,  in  more  ways  than  one,  by  this  free  interchange  of 
thoughts ;  and  were  I  again  to  become  a  teacher,  I  think  I 
should  make  conversation  a  regular  exercise  of  the  school. 

Finally,  I  gave  a  subject  to  the  highest  class,  and  left  them 
to  write  upon  it  as  best  they  could,  without  any  assistance. 
If  the  pupils  were  studying  Rhetoric,  I  found  full  employment 
for  them  by  requiring  original  as  well  as  selected  examples 
of  the  different  figures,  or  of  the  different  kinds  of  style.  If 
they  were  studying  Prosody,  exercises  in  the  composition  of 
verse  were  frequently  required.  I  found  the  translation  of 
short  poems  from  some  foreign  language  a  valuable  exercise, 
and  the  poetical  part  of  my  "French  First  Class  Book" 
contains  a  hundred  or  more  suitable  poems  for  this  purpose. 

Another  method  by  which  the  pupils  were  encouraged  to 
exert  themselves,  was  the  recording  of  all  praiseworthy  com- 
positions in  a  neat  book  kept  for  the  purpose.  I  have  several 
volumes  that  were  filled  in  this  way  by  my  pupils ;  and  on 
winter  evenings,  it  was  not  uncommon  for  the  parents  to 
assemble  at  the  school-room  and  listen  to  the  reading  of  selec- 
tions from  this  record. 

Besides  these  set  exercises  in  composition,  I  occasionally 
called  the  classes  around  a  black-board,  and  taught  them 
punctuation  by  writing  sentences  for  them  to  punctuate  and 
correct.  Of  course,  there  may  be  some  difference  of  opinion 
in  regard  to  some  points,  but  the  rules  of  punctuation  are 
about  as  well  settled  as  those  of  grammar,  and  yet  on  no  one 
subject,  perhaps,  are  young  teachers  so  much  at  a  loss.  May 
I  be  excused,  then,  if  I  say  a  few  words  to  them  for  their 
guidance  and  encouragement. 

The  comma  is  the  main  stop,  and,  of  late,  it  has  almost 


180  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

superseded  the  semicolon,  colon  and  parenthesis.  A  correct 
knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  comma  is,  in  fact,  one  half  of  the 
whole  science  of  punctuation.  The  following  rules,  perhaps, 
embrace  the  greater  number  of  occasions  when  the  comma 
must  be  used. 

1.  Two  verbs,  nouns,  or  other  parts  of  speech,  following 
each  other,  and  not  connected  by  and,  must  be  separated  by  a 
comma ;  as,  "  That  wise,  good  and  great  man  lived,  labored 
and  died  for  his  fellow-creatures." 

2.  The  word  and  is  equivalent  to  a  comma,  and,  when  it  is 
understood,  a  comma  must  be  supplied ;   as,  "  Wise,  good, 
great  men  live,  labor,  die  for  their  fellow-creatures." 

3.  Nouns  in  apposition  are  separated  by  a  comma;  as, 
"  John,  king  of  England." 

4.  The  name  or  epithet  by  which  a  person  is  addressed 
must  have  a  comma  after  it ;  as,  "  John,  come  here  ! "     "  My 
good  friend,  forgive  me!" 

5.  The  phrase  that  includes  a  case  absolute  with  a  participle, 
as  Murray  calls  it,  must  be  preceded  and  followed  by  a  comma  ; 
as,  "They,  all  hope  being  lost,  surrendered." 

6.  Certain  adverbs  are  generally  preceded  and  followed  by 
a  comma;  as,  indeed,  perhaps,  moreover,  therefore.      Nay, 
besides,  firstly,  secondly,  &c.,  at  the  beginning  of  sentences 
or  phrases,  require  a  comma  after  them. 

7.  When  the  exact  words  of  another  are  quoted,  the  quota- 
tion must  begin  with  a  capital  and  follow  at  least  a  comma. 
The  quotation  marks  must  not  include  words  not  borrowed ; 
as,  "  Go,"  said  she,  "  but  return  soon  ;"  and  not,  "  Go,  said 
she,  but  return  soon." 

8.  A  comma  marks  the  omission  of  a  verb ;  as,  "  To  err  is 
human  ;  to  forgive,  divine." 

9.  All  parenthetical  clauses  or  words,  that  is,  all  words  that 
may  be  omitted  and  not  destroy  the  sentence,  must  be  pre- 
ceded   and    followed   by  commas ;    as,  "  Grammar,  properly 
understood,  is  a  simple  affair^  but,  unfortunately,  it  has  not 
been  so  understood." 

The  ancients  made  no  use  of  punctuation,  and  this  has  led 
to  many  mistakes,  and  much  difference  of  opinion  among 
critics.  It  is  probable  that  to  the  absence  of  these  points  the 
ancient  oracles  owed  much  of  their  renown;  for  the  response 
was  generally  given  so  that  it  would  be  true  whatever  was 
the  event.  It  is  said  that  a  Grecian  king,  doubtful  about  the 
policy  of  invading  a  neighboring  kingdom,  sent  to  Delphos  to 


COMPOSITION.  181 

ask  the  opinion  of  the  oracle.  The  answer  was  not  punctuated, 
and  they  read  it,  "  He  shall  go,  return,  not  be  slain  in  battle." 
He  went  and  was  slain ;  and  when  his  friends  reproached  the 
oracle  with  want  of  truth,  they  were  told  that  they  had  read 
the  answer  wrong ;  its  meaning  being,  "  He  shall  go,  return 
not,  be  slain  in  battle." 

The  semicolon  must  be  used  when  a  comma  does  not  seem 
to  be  sufficient,  that  is,  when  more  than  the  smallest  pause  is 
needed;  but  it  should  not  be  used  instead  of  a  period,  as  is 
too  often  the  case.  It  is  difficult  to  give  any  invariable  rules 
for  its  use. 

1.  It  generally  separates  clauses  rather  than  words ;    as, 
"  He  may  become  the  victim  of  misfortune  ;  he  is  incapable  of 
crime." 

2.  A  comma  followed  by  and,  or,  but,  for,  because,  yet, 
seems  to  be  equivalent  to  a  semicolon ;  as,  "  He  may  become 
the  victim  of  misfortune,  but  he  is  incapable  of  crime." 

Many  writers,  when  in  doubt  as  to  the  proper  stop,  make 
free  use  of  the  dash,  but  this  is  a  bad  practice,  and  teachers 
must  not  tolerate  it  in  their  pupils. 

The  colon  is  rarely  used,  and,  perhaps,  is  never  necessary. 
Usage  places  it  still  after  the  words,  to  wit :  as  follows :  thus  : 
and  after  the  abbreviation,  viz:  but,  in  other  cases,  it  had 
better  be  avoided. 

The  period  marks  the  end  of  a  complete  sentence,  and  the 
teacher  must  be  careful  not  to  let  his  pupils  string  together 
several  sentences.  They  must  be  encouraged  to  write  short 
sentences  at  first,  and  should  always  be  required  to  cut  up 
such  as  are  too  long  to  be  easily  managed.  Thus  the  follow- 
ing sentence  may  be  cut  into  two,  at  the  semicolon.  "  To 
live  is  pleasant,  and  to  die  may  be  gain,  but,  as  there  is  some 
doubt  of  the  gain,  most  men  desire  to  live ;  let  them  not,  how- 
ever, forget,  that  death  cannot  always  be  put  off,  and  he  whose 
life  is  lengthened  only  to  be  misspent,  will  gain  little  by  the 
extension." 

It  is  a  common  thing  for  makers  of  spelling-books  to  say 
that  a  comma  requires  a  pause  long  enough  to  count  one  ;  a 
semicolon,  two ;  a  colon,  three,  and  a  period,  four.  Some, 
who  have  felt  wise,  have  ridiculed  this  rule,  and  said,  that 
some  commas  require  a  longer  pause  than  merely  to  count 
one.  As  the  books  do  not  say  how  fast  a  person  must  count, 
it  is  but  fair  to  conclude  that  the  authors  meant  that  every 
reader  should  count  to  please  himself,  making  ihe  semicolon 
16 


182  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

twice  as  long  as  the  comma,  &c.,  after  the  length  of  the 
comma  is  agreed  upon.  Some  say,  also,  that,  at  a  comma 
and  semicolon,  the  voice  must  be  kept  up,  and  others  mock  at 
this.  Yet,  it  is  a  safe  rule  for  children,  who  have  little  judg- 
ment or  discretion,  and  I  should  so  teach  them  at  least  one 
generation  longer. 

The  exclamation  point  sometimes  seems  to  conflict  with 
the  note  of  interrogation ;  as,  "  What  is  more  amiable  than 
virtue  ?  "  If  no  answer  is  expected,  the  exclamation  may  be 
used,  although  the  sentence  has  the  form  of  a  question. 

Every  question  must  have  the  interrogation  mark  after  it, 
but  it  must  not  be  placed  after  words  that  are  no  part  of  the 
question  ;  as,  "  Did  you  call  me  ?  sir,"  and  not,  "  Did  you 
call  me,  sir?  "  which  has  a  very  different  meaning. 

As  many  teachers  are  at  a  loss  whether  the  voice  should 
rise  or  fall  at  the  end  of  a  question,  I  may  be  excused  for 
giving  them  the  almost  invariable  rule,  that,  "  If  the  question 
can  be  answered  by  yes  or  no,  the  voice  must  be  raised,  and, 
in  all  other  cases,  it  must  be  allowed  to  fall." 

The  parenthesis,  (  ),  and  brackets,  [  ],  are  less  employed  than 
formerly,  and  are  often  misused.  For  this  reason,  I  never 
allowed  my  younger  pupils  to  use  the  parenthesis,  but  re- 
quired commas  instead.  The  correct  rule  is,  to  use  the  paren- 
thesis when  what  it  encloses  is  a  sort  of  comment  upon  the 
rest  of  the  sentence ;  and  to  use  the  brackets  when  what  they 
enclose,  though  useful  information,  is  no  part  of  the  senti- 
ment ;  as,  "  An  eccentric  clergyman,  preaching  against  the 
fashions,  selected  the  text  (and  a  ridiculous  conceit  it  was) 
'  Top  not,  come  down!'  [Matt.  xxiv.  17.]" 

The  dash,  placed  after  a  comma,  semicolon,  colon  or  period, 
lengthens  the  pause.  Sometimes  it  only  marks  a  broken 
sentence.  If  the  teacher  allows  it  to  be  used  to  lengthen 
pauses,  he  must  not  allow  it  to  be  used  instead  of  them  by 
children. 

The  hyphen  must  never  be  used  at  the  beginning  of  a  line 
when  a  word  is  divided,  and  no  word  must  be  divided  except 
at  the  end  of  a  syllable.  No  monosyllable  can  be  divided  by 
a  hyphen. 

The  apostrophe  marks  the  Possessive  Case,  as  Mr.  Murray 
calls  the  adjective  that  is  formed  from  every  noun  by  adding 
the  apostrophe  and  s,  or  the  apostrophe  alone.  In  other  cases, 
it  marks  the  omission  of  one  or  more  letters.  Nothing  can  be 
more  loose  than  the  prevalent  custom  of  using  the  apostrophe. 


COMPOSITION.  183 

For  a  general  rule,  it  must  never  be  used  to  omit  a  letter  in 
prose,  and  never,  even  in  poetry,  if  the  omission  does  not  alter 
the  pronunciation  of  the  word.  In  the  Companion  to  Spelling- 
Books,  I  have  given  many  rules  and  exercises  on  this  subject. 

As  the  ( . )  is  used  to  mark  the  end  of  a  sentence,  an  abbre- 
viation, and  the  place  between  units  and  decimal  fractions,  the 
teacher  will  do  well  in  the  first  case  to  call  it  a  period  ;  in  the 
second,  a  dot ;  and  in  the  third,  a.  point. 

Every  word  abbreviated,  unless  it  be  by  an  apostrophe, 
must  have  a  dot  placed  after  it.  This  rule  is  so  little  regarded, 
that  teachers  cannot  too  carefully  look  to  it.  At  every  Teach- 
ers' Institute  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  re- 
quired the  young  teachers  to  write  a  letter,  and  the  result  was, 
that  not  one  in  twenty  knew  how  to  begin  and  end  one,  in 
every  respect,  correctly.  I  shall  do  a  favor,  then,  by  giving  a 
form,  which  they  may  follow  with  safety. 

Boston,  Oct.  14,  1846. 

John  Smith,  Esq., 

My  dear  Sir, 

I  herewith  send  you  a  copy  of  the 

"  Teachers'  Institute,"  which  has  been  written  in  great  haste, 
but  with  great  good  will.  Of  course,  all  descriptions  must 
be  dull  compared  with  an  actual  lesson,  but,  if  this  volume 
shall  enable  you  to  profit,  however  little,  by  my  long  experi- 
ence, I  shall  be  well  rewarded  for  my  trouble  in  writing  it. 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

Wm.  B.  Fowle. 

If  more  epithets  are  used  at  the  end,  let  each  occupy  a  dif- 
ferent line,  thus : 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  humble  servant, 

Wm.  B.  Fowle. 

Recollect  that  no  dot  of  abbreviation  must  ever  be  placed 
after  an  entire  word.  The  address  of  the  person  for  whom 
the  letter  is  intended,  should  always  be  written  on  the  inside 
of  the  letter,  and  it  is  safer  to  begin  with  the  name  than  to 
place  it,  as  some  do,  at  the  end,  on  the  left  hand  side ;  for,  if 
left  to  the  last,  it  may  be  forgotten  ;  and  if  placed  first,  should 
the  letter  be  misdirected  on  the  outside,  the  direction  on  the 
inside  will  first  strike  the  eye,  and  induce  any  honorable  per- 
son to  close  it  at  once,  and  consider  it  a  sacred  trust,  to  be 


184  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

kept  in  charge  for  the  real  owner.  It  is  safer,  too,  to  put  the 
chte  where  I  have  placed  it,  lest  it  should  be  forgotten.  I 
generally  omit  the  place  after  the  name  of  my  correspondent, 
but  some  careful  merchants  always  insert  it,  that,  if  the  letter 
falls  into  the  wrong  hands,  the  error  may  be  rectified.  When 
I  insert  the  place,  I  direct  the  letter  at  the  end,  for  the  sake  of 
appearances.  May  I  be  excused  if  I  warn  my  young  female 
friends  of  the  besetting  fault  of  their  sex,  the  entire  omission 
of  dates,  especially  in  what  they  consider  unimportant  billets. 
May  I  also  caution  all  writers  of  letters  to  superscribe  them 
as  fast  as  they  are  written.  I  have  twice  received  letters  from, 
gentlemen,  who,  in  writing  to  me  and  to  their  wives,  at  the 
same  sitting,  sealed  both  letters,  and  then  directed  them  to  the 
wrong  persons.  Few  persons  fold  a  letter  well,  and  seal  it 
neatly,  and  none  can  be  too  careful  in  directing  it  to  write  a  fair 
hand.  The  name  of  the  person  should  be  much  larger  than 
the  common  hand  of  the  writer,  and  the  name  of  the  place, 
larger  still.  If  directed  to  a  town  of  the  state  in  which  the 
writer  resides,  it  is  not  customary  to  place  the  name  of  the 
county,  as  well  as  that  of  the  state,  after  the  name  of  the 
town.  Some  omit  both  county  and  state,  and  the  postmasters 
understand  that  a  town  so  left  is  in  the  state  where  the  letter 
is  mailed.  But,  where  the  town  is  in  another  state,  the  town, 
county,  and  state,  if  known,  should  all  be  plainly  designated. 
My  position,  as  publisher  of  the  Common  School  Journal, 
has  led  me  to  notice  the  great  inattention  of  teachers  to  these 
forms,  or  I  should  not  feel  authorized  to  allude  to  what  seems 
so  obviously  proper. 
t 


186 


THE  MONITORIAL  SYSTEM; 

A  Lecture  delivered  before  the  Teacher?  Institutes  at  Ando- 
ver  and  elsewhere,  in  Oct.,  1846,  by  WILLIAM  B.  FOWLE. 

MY  fellow-teachers,  I  think  you  will  bear  me  out  in  the 
assertion,  that  one  of  the  most  difficult  parts  of  a  teacher's  duty 
is  the  keeping  of  every  pupil  usefully  employed  all  the  time. 
The  number  of  children  in  our  schools  is  often  so  large,  that, 
if  divided  into  few  classes,  the  class  is  so  large  that  it  must 
embrace  many  who  are  unfit  to  work  together;  and  if  the 
classes  are  numerous,  some  must  be  neglected,  because  it 
requires  as  much  time  to  hear  the  recitation  of  a  small  class 
as  of  a  large  one,  the  length  of  the  lesson  being  the  same. 

I  know  not  that  I  can  enforce  this  point  more  clearly,  and 
more  effectually,  than  by  quoting  the  words  of  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Essex  County  Convention  of  Teachers,  the  Hon. 
David  Choate,  who,  while  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Education  in  our  Legislature,  is  reported  to  have  said,  "I  am 
confident,  from  my  own  observation,  that  nearly  all  occasion 
for  severe  discipline  in  schools  is  owing  to  the  fact,  that  most 
children  at  school  really  have  nothing  to  do  for  a  very  large 
part  of  the  time.  In  a  school  of  fifty  scholars,  no  one  is  en- 
titled to  more  than  three  minutes  and  a  half  of  the  teacher's 
time  in  half  a  day.  The  child  must  sit  still,  if  he  can,  nearly 
three  long  hours,  and  a  teacher  is  held  to  be  no  teacher,  and 
his  school,  no  school,  if  children  so  situated  —  play-  Inno- 
cent creatures,  the  hope  of  parents,  and  the  hope  of  the  state, 
are  whipped  from  one  end  of  the  commonwealth  to  the  other, 
for  no  earthly  reason  than  because  they  have  nothing  to  do 
that  they  know  how  to  do.  Now,  sir,  what  is  the  remedy  ? 
It  is,  clearly,  to  employ  so  many  assistants  as  to  occupy  the 
whole  time  of  the  pupil.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  a  child's 
time  is  not  worth  any  thing,  and  if  they  are  out  of  the  way, 
no  matter  if  they  do  not  learn.  That  parent  makes  a  wretched 
bargain  who  gains  relief  from  the  presence  of  his  child  by 
sending  him  into  a  large  and  idle  school.  He  may  learn 
nothing  there  that  is  valuable,  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
he  learns  nothing.  Idleness  is  the  hotbed  of  mischief,  the 
16* 


186  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

nurse  of  vice  and  crime,  and  how  many  owe  their  distaste  for 
study,  their  irritable  tempers,  their  diseased  bodies,  to  the 
constrained  idleness  of  the  school-room.  There  is  but  one 
remedy,  —  we  must  have  more  teachers." 

So  the  Examining  Committee  of  the  Boston  schools,  in 
their  memorable  Report  of  1845,  say, —  "It  will  be  found 
upon  examination  that,  in  most  cases  where  severe  injury  has 
followed  corporal  punishment  in  our  schools,  the  offence  was 
very  trifling,  and  no  great  severity  intended  when  the  master 
began  to  strike.  Moreover,  it  is  beyond  all  question  that,  in 
the  majority  of  cases  of  corporal  punishment,  and  other  kinds 
of  punishment,  in  our  schools,  it  is  inflicted  for  violations  of 
arbitrary  rules  of  discipline,  for  whispering,  for  disorderly 
conduct  arising  from  bodily  uneasiness,  the  fault  as  much  of 
the  school  as  of  the  scholar.  Whoever  will  go  into  our 
schools,  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  will  find  a  large  portion  of 
the  scholars  unoccupied  by  any  study ;  they  may  have  a  book 
before  them,  but  as  its  contents  are  insipid,  or,  perhaps,  incom- 
prehensible, yet,  nevertheless,  to  be  committed  to  memory ; 
and  as  there  is  no  master  immediately  over  them,  they  do  not 
study.  Now,  to  expect  boys,  full  of  young  life  and  pent-up 
vigor,  to  remain  motionless,  is  to  expect  that  which  is  impos- 
sible ;  oftentimes,  the  best  boys,  those  who  will  make  the 
ablest  and  best  men,  will  manifest  their  uneasiness  in  such  a 
way  as  to  bring  down  punishment.  Something  is  wrong." 

"  We  must,  then,  have  more  teachers."  But  who  does  not 
know  that,  much  as  the  Board  of  Education  have  done  to 
improve  the  character  of  teachers,  and  augment  the  number  of 
good  ones,  so  far  from  increasing  the  number  employed  in  our 
large  schools,  the  expense  of  even  one  teacher  is  more  care- 
fully calculated  than  any  other  item  of  public  expenditure. 
Much  is  said  about  the  incalculable  value  of  general  educa- 
tion, but  the  highest  expenditures  are  still  within  the  reach 
of  very  limited  arithmeticians.  I  hesitate  not  to  say  that, 
compared  with  the  importance  of  its  object,  no  appropriation 
is  so  small  as  that  usually  made  by  our  towns  for  the  support 
of  public  schools.  What  should  be  expended  in  education, 
that  is,  in  prevention,  is  generally  expended  in  the  support 
of  prisons  and  poor-houses ;  for  the  public  have  not  yet  learned 
that,  to  pay  the  great  and  accumulating  debt  incurred  for  sup- 
porting paupers  and  restraining  or  punishing  criminals,  there 
is  but  one  adequate  sinking-fund,  —  a  good  education  of  chil- 
dren in  knowledge  and  virtue. 


THE   MONITORIAL  SYSTEM.  187 

But,  as  our  schools  are  now  constituted,  the  natural  increase 
of  pupils  involves  a  proportionate  increase  of  expense,  and 
unless  the  constitution  of  the  schools  is  altered,  we  cannot,  in 
the  present  state  of  public  feeling,  expect  to  see  any  important 
reform.  He,  therefore,  who  can  propose  a  plan,  by  which 
all  the  additional  teachers  that  we  need  may  be  obtained  with- 
out any  additional  expense,  must  be  esteemed  a  benefactor, 
and  this  is  the  improvement  that  I  now  intend  to  propose  for 
your  .consideration. 

So  far  as  I  can  learn,  there  never  was  a  time  when  the 
teachers  of  our  New  England  schools  were  not  accustomed, 
in  one  way  or  another,  to  call  in  the  assistance  of  their  pupils. 
When  I  was  at  school,  the  highest  class  boys  were  often  em- 
ployed to  hear  the  lower  classes  recite  English  grammar ;  and 
this  they  could  do  as  well  as  the  master,  for  the  recitation 
consisted  in  merely  saying  a  few  lines  of  the  text-book  by 
rote,  without  any  explanation  of  terms,  or  application  of  princi- 
ples. So  every  large  boy  was  required  to  take  a  small  one 
and  set  his  copy.  And,  worse  than  all,  certain  boys  were 
constantly  employed  to  call  out  or  name  talkers  and  other 
offenders,  and  he  was  a  bold  fellow  who  dared  to  remonstrate 
against  such  a  nomination,  the  master  seldom  if  ever  inquiring 
into  the  truth  of  the  accusation. 

Parents  and  School  Committees  knew  that  this  was  the 
practice,  but  I  never  heard  that  any  objection  was  made  to  it, 
until  it  was  proposed  avowedly  and  systematically  to  use  the 
pupils  as  assistants  to  the  teacher.  Then,  forsooth,  it  was 
fraught  with  danger,  and  violently  denounced ;  although,  at 
the  worst,  it  could  be  no  more  than  a  benevolent  experiment 
to  remove  an  acknowledged  defect  in  our  system  of  instruc- 
tion. 

The  Lancasterian  method  was  a  charitable  invention,  ap- 
plied at  first  to  the  education  of  the  utterly  ignorant  millions 
of  England,  in  the  merest  rudiments  of  a  common  English 
education.  Had  the  English  government  patronized  the 
schools,  they  would  have  done  all  that  was  expected  from 
them  ;  but  it  has  never  comported  with  the  plans  of  that  gov- 
ernment to  educate  the  people ;  and  even  at  this  moment, 
the  whole  amount  appropriated  by  Parliament  to  educate  the 
twenty-seven  millions  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  is  less 
than  is  appropriated  by  the  city  of  Boston  alone.  A  few 
choice  Lancasterian  schools  in  England  and  Scotland  were 
completely  successful,  but  they  depended  upon  individual 


188  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

enterprise,  and  not  upon  the  patronage  of  government.  In 
France,  the  system  of  Mutual  Instruction,  as  that  allowing  the 
use  of  pupils  as  assistants  was  called,  was  adopted  as  the 
national  system  under  Napoleon,  and  it  was  working  won- 
ders, when  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons  revived  the  old 
parish  schools,  taught  gratuitously  by  the  priests,  for  the  sake 
of  the  influence  it  gave  them  over  the  politics,  as  well  as  the 
religion,  of  the  people.  Lancaster  came  to  this  country,  but 
he  was  out  of  his  element  here ;  and  so  little  did  he  know  of 
our  wants,  and  of  the  expansive  capabilities  of  his  own  system, 
that  he  spoke  of  New  England  as  if  it  were  old  England, 
and  denounced  every  deviation  from  his  plan  as  a  damning 
error.  Lest,  in  my  remarks  upon  the  use  I  make  of  monitors, 
I  should  be  suspected  of  using  the  plan  as  taught  by  Lan- 
caster, it  may  be  well  for  me  to  say,  that,  when  he  visited  my 
school  in  Boston,  he  refused  to  acknowledge  it  as  a  legitimate 
branch  of  his  system.  I  had  retained  the  great  principle  of 
requiring  pupils  to  teach  as  well  as  learn,  but  I  had  rejected 
all  the  machinery  and  tactics  that  he  had  used  in  teaching 
the  uneducated  and  uncivilized  masses  of  England. 

In  this  country,  the  system  was  first  tried  at  New  York,  by 
a  benevolent  association,  who  established  schools  like  those 
of  England,  for  the  destitute  poor,  and  for  the  merest  elements 
of  learning.  For  twenty  years  or  more,  those  schools,  in 
which  four  or  five  hundred  were  taught  by  one  teacher,  were 
the  boast  of  that  city.  In  imitation  of  the  metropolis,  the 
whole  state  adopted  the  plan,  and  the  reports,  for  some  years, 
spoke  of  the  experiment  as  completely  successful.  Why  it 
has  become  so  entirely  disused  in  that  great  state,  I  could 
never  discover ;  but  from  my  acquaintance  with  the  teachers 
and  schools  of  New  York,  and  many  inquiries  of  the  super- 
intendents, I  am  satisfied  that  it  was  not  from  any  fault  inhe- 
rent in  the  system,  but  from  its  mismanagement  by  inexperi- 
enced or  incompetent  teachers. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  the  Monitorial  System  is  still 
continued,  and  lately  they  have  established  normal  schools  for 
the  instruction  of  monitors  as  well  as  teachers.  Let  it  be 
remembered,  however,  that  these  schools  have  always  been 
charity  schools,  managed  by  a  society ;  the  pupils  are  of  the 
poorest  and  least  permanent  portion  of  the  population,  and  little 
more  than  the  merest  rudiments  of  knowledge  are  required 
to  be  taught  in  them.  Their  34  large  schools  now  average 
300  pupils  each,  under  one  teacher  and  one  assistant ;  and 


THE   MONITORIAL   SYSTEM.  189 

the  13  primary  schools  average  300  also,  with  but  one  teacher 
and  one  assistant.  As  the  pupils  belong  to  a  class  seldom  if 
ever  seen  in  even  the  large  towns  of  New  England,  the  fail- 
ure of  such  schools  can  prove  nothing  here,  and  their  success 
and  lengthened  existence  are  almost  miraculous.  When  there 
was  a  proposition  to  introduce  the  Monitorial  Plan  into  the 
Boston  schools,  a  comparison  was  instituted  between  the 
schools  of  the  two  cities,  and  it  being  evident  that  the  Boston 
children  had  advanced  further  than  the  others,  this  was 
at  once  concluded  to  be  the  consequence  of  the  different  sys- 
tems, and  no  change  was  made.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
true,  that  the  greater  part  of  our  children  attended  the  public 
schools  from  4  to  10  years,  while  the  average  attendance  at 
the  New  York  schools  did  not  exceed  one  year.  The  first 
time  I  visited  those  schools,  a  young  teacher  was  shown  to  me 
as  a  prodigy,  and  the  wonder  arose  from  the  circumstance, 
that  he  was  the  only  teacher  that  had  ever  been  trained  in 
their  own  schools  !  Had  the  comparison  been  confined,  as  it 
should  have  been,  to  the  discipline  of  the  rival  schools  ;  or  had 
proper  allowance  been  made  for  the  different  quality  of  the 
pupils,  the  New  York  system  would  not  have  suffered.  Phila- 
delphia also  took  up  the  system,  and  the  following  extract  from 
the  Report  of  the  Controllers  of  the  Public,  Schools  will  show 
their  present  condition.  "  It  will  be  remembered,"  say  they, 
"  that,  at  the  introduction  of  the  Monitorial  System  here,  one 
teacher,  aided  by  monitors  taken  from  his  own  pupils,  was 
considered  sufficient  for  the  care,  and  government,  and  instruc- 
tion of  300  children.  *  *  *  The  effort  now  made  is  to 
furnish,  even  at  considerable  increase  of  expense,  an  adequate 
number  of  well-qualified  teachers,  so  as  to  secure  to  each 
child  a  due  share  of  instruction  from  his  teacher."  This  is 
merely  making  the  monitors  what  they  ought  to  be,  assist- 
ants and  not  substitutes  for  teachers.  At  first,  the  merest  ele- 
ments were  taught,  and  one  master  sufficed ;  but,  just  in  pro- 
portion to  the  new  branches  introduced,  must  be  the  increase 
of  teachers  or  the  diminution  of  pupils. 

The  plan  was  never  generally  adopted  in  any  part  of  New 
England.  New  Haven  has  maintained  one  popular  school 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  it  is  still  prospering 
under  the  original  teacher.  Portsmouth*  followed  next,  and 

*  In  the  summer  of  1345,  at  a  meeting  of  many  friends  of  Education  at 
Concord,  N.  H.,  the  Governor  and  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  being 
present,  Levi  Woodbury,  late  Secretary  of  State,  and  now  Judge  of  the 


190  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

for  many  years  its  Monitorial  School  was  the  best  school  of 
any  kind  in  that  state.  Two  public  schools  at  Newburyport 
followed,  and  did  much  to  raise  the  standard  of  their  schools. 
But  the  plan  was  unluckily  supposed  to  be  only  fitted  for 
teaching  the  elements,  and  for  enforcing  good  discipline,  and 
when  this  was  done,  the  system  was  discontinued,  instead  of 
being  adapted  to  the  improved  condition  of  the  children.  Nan- 
tucket  tried  the  system,  and  liked  it  for  some  years,  but  she 
has  gone  back  to  the  old  plan.  Providence  once  had  an 
excellent  private  school  on  this  plan,  but  has  none  at  present. 
Springfield  tried  the  plan  in  one  large  school  with  entire  suc- 
cess, but  after  two  years,  a  change  of  masters  put  an  end  to 
the  experiment.  Portland  bought  off  the  excellent  teacher  of 
the  Portsmouth  school,  but  in  time  the  system  was  disused, 
and  the  teacher  was  shorn  of  his  strength,  when  his  favorite 
system  departed.  The  only  monitorial  school  extant  in  Mas- 
sachusetts is  one  at  Boston  for  boys.  It  has  been  in  opera- 
tion about  eighteen  years,  and  has  annually  sent  forth  as 
thoroughly  instructed  youths  as  any  in  the  city.  The  number 
of  pupils  has  never  been  large  enough  to  make  the  use  of 
monitors  a  matter  of  necessity,  but  the  teacher  has  always 
used  them  from  choice,  and  teaching  every  pupil  as  much  as 
any  other  faithful  master  does,  all  the  practice  obtained  by 
this  mutual  instruction  is  clear  gain. 

It  fell  to  my  lot  to  make  the  first  experiment  on  this  plan  in 
Boston.  In  1821,  the  Primary  School  Committee,  of  which 
I  was  a  member,  collected  about  ninety  girls  and  ninety  boys 
who  went  to  no  school,  being  thought  too  old  for  the  primary 
schools,  and  too  ignorant  to  be  admitted  into  the  grammar 
schools.  The  grant  to  support  a  temporary  school  for  the 
instruction  of  these  neglected  children  was  very  small,  and  we 
adopted  the  monitorial  plan  because  we  had  not  money 
enough  for  any  other,  the  whole  grant  being  but  1000  dollars, 
of  which  more  than  half  was  expended  in  fitting  up  the  school- 
room. We  borrowed  a  teacher  from  Albany,  who  wns 
recalled  in  a  few  weeks ;  but,  rather  than  let  the  experiment 

Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  being  prevailed  on  to  address  the  very 
respectable  audience,  remarked  that  in  his  opinion  there  had  been  but  one 
invention  in  the  art  of  leaching  for  more  than  half  a  century,  and  this  was, 
"  the  employment  of  the  pupils  as  assistants  to  the  teacher."  -The  excellent 
school  at  Portsmouth,  of  which  he  had  been  overseer,  was  one  of  the  facts  on 
which  his  discerning  judgment  was  based  ;  the  great  success  of  Dr.  Arnold 
in  England,  whose  improvements  in  school  discipline  depended  upon  the  use 
of  his  pupils  as  assistants,  was  another. 


THE    MONITORIAL   SYSTEM.  191 

fail,  I  assumed  the  office  of  teacher,  and  carried  on  the  school 
two  years.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  unprophious  than 
this  commencement,  whether  we  consider  the  want  of  funds, 
the  character  of  the  pupils,  or  the  inexperience  of  the  teacher, 
who  had  never  seen  a  monitorial  school,  nor  taught  any  school 
on  any  plan. 

The  first  difficulty  arose  from  the  fact  that  none  of  the 
unfortunate  pupils  knew  enough  to  teach  their  companions, 
and  the  best  of  them  were  supposed  to  be  unworthy  of  trust  for 
a  moment.  The  superior  committee  ordered  the  teacher  of 
a  regular  grammar  school  in  the  same  building  to  lend  me 
a  dozen  boys,  and  he  sent  me  the  worst  he  could  select; 
remarking  that,  "  if  the  experiment  succeeded,  it  should  not 
owe  its  success  to  his  scholars."  Fortunately,  a  few  girls, 
who  had  become  discontented  at  some  grammar  school,  were 
allowed  to  enter  mine,  and  these  I  employed  as  my  assistants, 
sending  back  all  the  boys  that  had  been  so  generously  loaned. 
As  many  of  my  boys  were  large,  and  as  all,  boys  and  girls, 
were  unaccustomed  to  order  or  subordination,  it  is  an  interest- 
ing fact,  that,  for  two  years,  that  school  was  mainly  taught  by 
female  monitors,  and  instances  of  disobedience  and  misconduct 
were  as  unusual,  to  say  the  least,  as  in  any  other  school. 
When  the  school  was  publicly  declared  by  the  mayor  to  be 
second  to  no  grammar  school  in  the  city,  I  felt  that  my  duty 
was  done,  and  I  immediately  resigned.  The  children  were 
all  transferred  to  the  grammar  schools,  for  which  they  were 
all  fitted,  and  the  "  School  of  Mutual  Instruction,"  as  it  was 
called,  was  discontinued. 

A  few  days  after  my  resignation,  some  members  of  the 
School  Committee,  with  other  gentlemen  who  had  watched 
my  experiment,  proposed  a  school  on  the  same  plan  for  their 
own  children,  and  made  me  such  a  liberal  offer,  that  I  relin- 
quished the  business  to  which  I  had  been  trained,  and  which 
I  had  carried  on  while  teaching  the  other  school,  and  thence- 
forth devoted  myself  exclusively  to  the  work  of  instruction.  I 
taught  this  second  school  more  than  seventeen  years,  having, 
on  an  average,  over  a  hundred  pupils,  without  any  limit  in 
regard  to  age.  In  addition  to  the  common  branches,  I  taught 
Latin,  French  and  Spanish  ;  natural  history  and  natural  phi- 
losophy in  all  their  departments ;  astronomy,  book-keeping, 
&c.  &c.,  without  any  assistance  except  what  was  afforded  by 
my  own  unpaid  pupils.  This  plan  enabled  the  trustees  to 
reduce  the  rates  of  tuition  to  about  half  those  of 'other  schools 


192  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

where  the  same  branches  were  taught,  and  yet  the  surplus 
income,  beyond  all  expenses,  enabled  the  trustees  to  purchase 
a  choice  library  of  600  volumes,  a  better  apparatus,  and  more 
of  it,  than  any  academy  or  school  in  the  state  possessed,  besides 
paying  for  the  instruction  of  all  our  pupils  in  vocal  music, 
dancing,  drawing,  painting  and  needlework,  branches  that  I 
did  not  attempt  to  teach. 

This  experiment  was  not  entirely  lost  upon  Boston,  for, 
four  or  five  years  after  I  commenced,  the  city  established  a 
High  School  for  girls,  entirely  on  the  monitorial  plan,  and 
this  school  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  the  two  years  that  it 
continued.  In  fact,  the  immediate  cause  of  its  discontinuance 
was  its  popularity,  for  the  applicants  for  admission  were  so 
numerous,  that  not  half  could  be  received  ;  and,  as  the  parents 
of  the  rejected  ones  clamored  for  more  high  schools,  the  ques- 
tion arose  whether  several  such  should  be  established,  or  such 
alterations  made  in  the  grammar  schools  as  would  afford  the 
highest  class  of  girls  all  the  advantages  of  a  high  school. 
The  latter  course  was  adopted ;  the  girls  were  allowed  to  stay 
at  the  grammar  schools  two  years  longer  than  the  boys,  who 
had  a  high  school ;  the  masters  of  the  grammar  schools  were 
required  to  teach  all  that  had  been  attempted  in  the  high 
school,  and  then  the  monitorial  high  school  was  discontinued. 
The  experiment,  however,  was  considered  perfectly  successful, 
and  had  new  schools  been  established,  they  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  on  the  same  plan. 

Again,  in  1831,  the  School  Committee, believing  that  some 
radical  change  in  the  city  schools  was  necessary,  voted, 
unanimously,  I  believe,  to  introduce  what  they  considered  a 
monitorial  plan  into  all  the  grammar  schools.  Our  buildings 
had  two  rooms,  in  each  of  which  was  a  master  and  usher. 
Half  the  pupils  were  in  each  room  alternately;  in  one,  learn- 
ing writing  and  arithmetic,  and  in  the  other,  reading,  gram- 
mar and  geography.  The  masters  were  equal  in  rank  and 
independent  of  each  other,  and  the  same  system,  called  the 
"  double-headed  system,"  is  now  in  force  in  most  of  this  class 
of  schools.  The  new  plan  proposed  to  have  but  one  master, 
one  adult  assistant  subordinate  to  him,  and  six  paid  assistants, 
young  persons,  but  not  pupils.  The  old  grammar  masters 
were  made  the  new  principals,  and  they,  from  motives  of 
friendship  made  the  old  writing  masters  their  assistants,  who 
were  willing  to  serve  at  very  reduced  salaries.  All  the 
ushers  were  dismissed,  and  three  young  assistants  appointed 


THE    MONITORIAL   SYSTEM.  193 

instead  of  each  of  them.  As  the  principals  were  known  to  be 
opposed  to  the  change,  and  as  the  adult  assistants,  the  old 
writing  masters,  were  interested  in  having  the  old  order  of 
things  restored,  it  would  require  no  great  discernment  to  fore- 
see the  result  of  the  experiment  in  such  unfriendly  hands. 
At  the  end  of  two  years,  it  was  declared  a  failure  ;  the  double- 
headed  system  was  restored,  and  has  continued,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions  of  new  schools,  until  this  day.  Two  circum- 
stances, however,  should  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  this 
experiment.  The  teacher  of  the  Boylston  School,  one  of  the 
largest  and  best,  having  lost  his  usher,  requested  permission 
to  use  monitors  taken  from  his  pupils,  and  conducted  his 
school,  with  no  other  assistance,  more  than  a  year  before  the 
experiment  I  have  just  described.  His  success  had  been 
so  complete,  and  the  economy  so  evident,  that  the  committee 
voted  him  extra  compensation  for  his  services.  When  the 
schools  were  put  back,  his  school  went  with  the  rest.  Another 
teacher,  finding  that  the  paid  assistants  did  not  work  well, 
freely  employed  his  pupils,  and  from  being  the  poorest  school, 
his  had  become  second  to  none,  —  his  second  class  reading 
and  pursuing  all  the  studies  of  the  first  class, — when,  to  the 
great  regret  of  this  eminent  teacher,  the  double-headed  system 
was  reestablished.  It  has  always  been  a  source  of  regret  to 
me  that  my  friends,  the  Boston  teachers,  were  so  afraid  of  the 
system  that  I  loved,  because,  knowing  how  arduous  are  their 
duties,  I  wish  them  to  be  furnished  with  the  only  means  that, 
in  my  opinion,  can  afford  them  any  substantial  relief. 

The  city  of  Boston  has  had  four  successful  trials  of  the 
system  in  her  public  schools,  and  two  in  private  hands.  Five 
or  six  different  teachers  have  been  found  competent  to  conduct 
these  difficult  experiments,  and  probably  every  master  in  the 
public  service  is  equally  competent,  and  yet  the  schools  are 
going  on  in  the  old  way,  at  double  the  expense  that  would 
be  required  if  the  use  of  pupils  as  assistants  was  allowed. 

I  have  entered  into  these  details,  although  somewhat  tedious, 
because  I  sincerely  believe,  as  I  have  before  said,  that  the 
failure  of  attempts  to  teach  on  the  Monitorial  Plan  has  not 
arisen  from  any  defect  in  the  system,  and  ignorance  of  this 
fact  is  leading  us  to  reject  an  instrument,  which,  if  judiciously 
used,  may  be  of  incalculable  advantage.  I  have  thought  this 
sketch  of  the  history  of  monitorial  instruction  necessary  also 
to  a  full  understanding  of  the  further  remarks  which  I  may 
17 


194  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

make  upon  some  theoretical  objections  to  the  plan,  and  upon 
its  advantages  over  the  old  system. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  a  prejudice  has  always  existed 
against  the  Monitorial  Plan,  especially  as  Lancaster  taught  it, 
because  at  first  it  only  aimed  at  humble  attainments.  Its  first 
object  was  to  teach  the  ignorant  poor,  and  it  has  been  called, 
by  way  of  derision,  the  pauper  system.  If  I  thought  this 
objection  could  have  any  weight  with  an  intelligent  person,  I 
would  attempt  to  refute  it,  but  it  is  idle  to  argue  against 
prejudice. 

A  more  specious  objection  is,  that  children  have  not  judg- 
ment enough  to  govern  children.  This  objection  has  probably 
arisen  from  the  teacher's  entrusting  too  much  to  his  monitors. 
Require  too  much  of  an  adult,  and  he  will  fail  to  do  it  well. 
Give  an  adult  too  much  power,  without  proper  checks  and 
restrictions,  and  the  chance  is  a  hundred  to  one  that  he  will 
abuse  it.  Children  do  not  differ  from  adults  in  this  respect ; 
but  they  may  surely  be  trusted  to  a  certain  extent,  and  are  as 
faithful,  as  honest,  and  as  anxious  to  do  well  as  we  are.  Can 
we  expect  them  to  do  better  than  their  elders  ?  The  objection 
goes  upon  the  assumption  that  monitors  are  to  be  allowed  to 
reward  and  punish,  and  to  make  rules  and  affix  penalties, 
without  being  accountable  for  their  conduct ;  but,  in  every  case 
that  can  possibly  be  anticipated,  the  power  and  duty  of  a  moni- 
tor should  be  defined,  and  appeals  to  the  teacher  should 
always  be  respectfully  considered.  But  if  it  be  insisted  that 
the  young  are  less  sincere,  less  docile,  less  teachable,  less  just, 
less  anxious  to  do  right,  and  less  pure  in  heart,  than  adults,  I 
solemnly  deny  the  charge ;  and,  if  my  twenty-one  years'  experi- 
ence with  monitors,  as  well  as  with  children,  does  not  give 
weight  enough  to  the  denial,  I  will  ask,  why  a  certain  great 
Teacher,  to  whom  we  all  bow,  once  selected  a  little  child 
and  set  him  up  as  an  example  to  men,  whom  he  had  just  sent 
forth  to  teach  the  world. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  monitors  may  occasionally  have  been 
unfaithful  to  their  trust,  but  not  oftener  than  adults  ;  the  failure 
is  an  exception  to  the  general  conduct.  A  monitor  who  has 
to  teach  a  child  of  inferior  ability,  may  become  tired,  and  may 
slight  a  lesson  ;  a  child,  whose  judgment  is  exercised  by  a 
perverse  little  class,  may  sometimes  err ;  such  a  one  may 
sometimes  be  partial  to  the  good  and  harsh  to  the  disagreeable  ; 
but  when  this  little  one  is  arraigned,  who  is  the  teacher  that 
will  not  stoop  and  write  his  accusation  in  the  sand,  that  it 


THE    MONITORIAL   SYSTEM.  195 

may  be  erased  and  forgiven,  rather  than  rise  up  and  cast  the 
stone  that  will  conjdemn  himself  as  well  as  the  little  offender  ? 
The  child  who  is  exposed  to  no  such  trial,  but  who  is  only 
required  to  have  no  intercourse  with  his  fellows ;  the  perfec- 
tion of  whose  conduct  is  to  keep  silence  and  sit  immovable, 
possibly  may  not  err,  but  the  hermit  who  retired  from  the 
world  that  he  might  not  sin,  blasphemed  when  he  accidentally 
overturned  his  only  furniture,  a  pitcher  of  water.  Indeed,  it 
is  a  fair  question  for  the  moralist,  whether  a  system  that  tries 
the  character  in  youth,  and  develops  traits  that  would  other- 
wise have  grown  with  the  growth,  and  strengthened  with  the 
strength  of  the  child,  and  thus  have  become  an  incurable  de- 
fect in  the  adult  character,  is  not  to  be  preferred  on  this  very 
account.  The  moral  character,  the  moral  sentiments,  must  be 
educated,  as  well  as  the  intellectual  faculties ;  but  how  is  a 
moral  sentiment  to  be  instructed  unless  it  can  act,  can  mani- 
fest itself?  He  is  a  man  who  regulates  his  faculties,  and  not 
he  who  never  uses-  them.  The  child  who  .commits  to  memory, 
as  many  do,  a  whole  moral  class  book,  or  every  chapter  in 
the  Bible,  knows  not  his  own  strength  or  weakness,  and  in  the 
hour  of  trial  or  temptation,  will  be  as  helpless  as  the  drowning 
child  that  has  only  learned  to  swim  on  the  parlor  floor. 

I  could  detain  you  for  hours  with  the  detail  of  cases  in 
which  I  have  seen  the  better  feelings  of  the  heart,  and  the 
most  delicate  moral  sensibility,  exhibited  as  a  consequence  of 
the  relations  between  monitor  and  pupil,  but  I  will  only  allude 
to  one  or  two  classes  of  such  cases.  It  was  not  unusual  in, 
my  school,  when  a  pupil  was  inclined  to  talk,  or  otherwise 
habitually  to  offend,  for  two  pupils  who  never  offended,  to 
ask  that  she  might  sit  between  them,  to  be  out  of  temptation. 
It  was  no  uncommon  thing,  when  a  very  young  pupil  was 
often  reprimanded,  and  yet  continued  to  offend,  for  some  older 
pupil,  of  excellent  character,  to  become  bound  for  her  good 
behavior;  in  which  case,  the  little  one  was  allowed  to  sit  next 
to  her,  where  she  could  be  separated  from  companions  whose 
influence  was  unfavorable.  The  child  generally  became  so 
attached  to  her  patron  that  I  had  no  more  trouble  with  her. 
I  had  monitors,  therefore,  for  moral  training,  as  well  as  in  the 
comparatively  unimportant  matters  of  reading,  writing,  gram- 
mar, &c.,  the  knowledge  of  all  which,  without  a  cultivated 
moral  sense,  is  a  curse  oftener  than  a  blessing.  Dr.  Arnold, 
of  England,  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  teacher  of  the  pres- 
ent century,  who  reduced  one  of  the  most  vicious  and  ungov- 


196  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITTTTE. 

ernable  schools  not  only  to  order,  but  to  Christian  sobriety,  did 
this  through  the  medium  of  monitors.  He  rarely,  if  ever, 
used  them  as  assistants  in  teaching  the  various  branches  of 
knowledge;  but  in  reclaiming  the  school  from  vice,  and  gov- 
erning it  afterwards,  the  point  in  which  monitors  are  said  to 
be  especially  unqualified,  he  found  their  aid  indispensable. 
"I  could  do  nothing  without  my  Sixth  Class,"  said  he. 
"  When  I  have  confidence  in  the  Sixth,"  was  the  end  of  one 
of  his  farewell  addresses,  "  there  is  no  post  in  England  that  I 
would  exchange  for  this;  but  if  they  do  not  support  me,  I 
must  go."  When  fears  were  expressed  that  mischief  would 
ensue  from  the  method  he  pursued,  his  memorable  reply  was, 
"  The  victory  of  fallen  man  lies  not  in  innocence,  but  in  tried 
virtue."  "  I  hold  fast  to  the  great  truth,"  said  he,  that 
"  Blessed  is  he  that  overcometh." 

If,  therefore,  the  employment  of  monitors,  under  the  eye 
and  direction  of  the  teacher,  will  afford  them  opportunities  of 
cultivating  the  judgment,  the  conscience,  the  kind  affections ; 
if  it  will  strengthen  those  who  are  right,  but  weak  in  moral 
courage ;  if  it  will  expose  those  who  are  defective  in  morals, 
and  thus  lead  to  their  timely  correction,  this  plan  is  the  very 
touchstone  we  need.  The  best  disciplined  minds  are  often 
found  in  those  children,  who,  by  what  the  world  terms  a  mis- 
fortune, are  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  and  early  accus- 
tomed to  the  exercise  of  their  moral  and  intellectual  faculties ; 
and  do  I  err  when  I  say,  that  no  good  opportunity  for  such 
exercise  is  afforded  in  common  schools,  where  each  is  required 
to  hoard  up  knowledge,  and  is  forbidden  to  impart  it  to  others  ; 
where  intercourse  is  prohibited,  and  whispering  is  high  trea- 
son ;  where  change  of  place,  if  not  of  position,  is  punished 
as  depravity;  where  implicit  obedience  is  the  divine  right  of 
the  teacher,  and  the  divine  wrong  of  the  pupil ;  where,  in  fact, 
the  best  pupil  is  he  who  most  nearly  resembles  an  automaton  ? 

It  has  been  objected,  too,  that  the  employment  of  pupils  as 
monitors  increases  that  love  of  domination,  which  is  already 
too  active  in  the  youthful  breast.  I  believe  this  charge  to  be 
unjust,  even  when  the  delegated  power  is  not  under  proper 
restraint ;  and  it  certainly  is  unjust,  when  the  teacher  does  his 
duty  as  a  watchful  overseer.  It  must  be  recollected,  that  the 
monitors  in  every  branch  are  the  best  pupils  in  that  particular 
branch,  and  every  monitor  may  also  be  a  pupil  of  his  fellow- 
scholar,  as  he  is  of  the  master;  and  though,  one  hour,  he  may 
govern  his  class  according  to  fixed  laws  enacted  by  the  mas- 


THE    MONITORIAL    SYSTEM.  197 

ter,  and  well  understood  by  every  pupil;  the  very  next  hour, 
he  may  be  subject,  to  one  of  the  very  pupils  that  he  had  just 
directed.  The  monitorial  plan,  as  1  used  it,  is  the  true  demo- 
cratic one  ;  the  children  all  had  a  chance  at  the  offices,  though 
only  the  qualified  and  the  deserving  were  appointed.  Being 
sometimes  governed,  children  are  less  likely  to  become  impe- 
rious ;  and  sometimes  commanding,  they  will  not  too  easily 
become  servile. 

About  the  worst  pupil  in  my  first  school  was  reformed  by 
being  made  a  monitor.  One  day,  a  class  of  eight  or  ten  small 
boys,  who  only  wanted  age  to  be  as  bad  as  himself,  entered 
school  while  I  was  at  my  wit's  end  to  know  what  to  do  with 
the  large  offender.  "  Do  you  know  those  boys  ?"  said  I.  "  I 
believe  I  do,"  said  he.  "  Bad  fellows,  are  they  not  ?  "  said  I. 
"  I  guess  you  '11  find  them  all  that,"  said  he.  "  Well,  now," 
said  I,  "  you  know  better  than  I  how  to  manage  such  fellows; 
why  can't  you  be  their  monitor,  and  teach  them  how  to  be- 
have ?  You  may  teach  them  what  you  can,  but  the  main 
thing  is  to  bring  them  to  order.  Will  you  try  to  help  me  ?" 
He  was  evidently  moved  by  my  confidence  in  him,  and  yet 
seemed  to  doubt  my  sincerity.  When  convinced  of  this  by 
being  introduced  to  the  new  comers  as  their  monitor,  he 
arranged  them  in  order,  and  prepared,  as  well  as  he  knew 
how,  to  teach  them.  Soon  he  came  up  to  me  and  said, 
"That  boy  won't  mind  me,  sir;  what  shall  1  do  to  him?" 
"  Well,"  said  I,  "  you  do  not  mind  me  sometimes,  and  per- 
haps the  best  rule  is  for  you  to  do  as  you  would  like  to  be 
done  unto.  Shall  I  flog  him?"  He  thought  a  moment  — 
"  No,  sir,"  said  he  ;  "I  guess  I  will  try  him  once  more."  As 
he  learned  what  it  was  reasonable  to  require  of  them,  he  grew 
more  and  more  ready  to  do  what  I  required  of  him.  One  day, 
his  father  came  to  the  school-room  to  inquire  what  I  had 
done  to  his  son.  I  was  alarmed  at  first,  but  he  soon  relieved 
me  by  saying  that,  a  few  weeks  ago,  his  son  had  given  him 
much  trouble  by  being  out  every  evening,  and  getting  into 
difficulty ;  but  of  late  he  staid  at  home  and  studied  his  les- 
sons, and  behaved  so  much  better,  that  he  had  determined  to 
come  and  ask  what  I  had  done  to  him.  I  told  him  what  had 
taken  place,  and  being  curious  to  know  what  lessons  he  stud- 
ied, since  I  had  excused  him  from  saying  any  to  me,  I  called 
the  boy  up,  and  asked  what  lessons  he  studied  at  home.  He 
blushed,  but  gave  no  answer.  "  Tell  me,"  said  I,  "because 
your  father  says  you  study  at  home,  and  I  wish  to  reward 
17* 


198  THE    TEACHEES'    INSTITUTE. 

you  for  your  industry."  "  I  study  the  lessons  of  my  class," 
said  he,  "  but  father  need  not  have  told  of  it."  "  O,"  said  I, 
"  this  is  very  honorable  to  you,  and  while  you  continue  to  do  as 
well  as  you  have  done,  you  will  find  a  good  friend  in  me  and 
in  your  father,  who  has  come  here  to  tell  me  how  well  you 
behave  at  home."  That  boy  gave  me  no  further  trouble  after- 
wards, and  he  trained  his  class  better,  probably,  than  I  could 
have  done,  had  I  done  nothing  else.  Bad  as  he  was,  one 
spark  of  virtue  remained  unextinguished,  and  this  one  instance 
of  unexpected  and  undeserved  confidence  kindled  it  into  an 
enduring  flame. 

Another  common  objection  against  the  use  of  children  as 
assistants  is,  that  their  knowledge  is  imperfect,  and  of  course 
their  teaching  must  be  of  the  same  character.  A  judicious 
teacher  would  not  set  a  child  to  teach  what  he  did  not  know ; 
but,  if  a  child  may  not  teach  what  he  does  know  to  one  who 
knows  less,  because  his  knowledge  is  limited,  I  do  not  see 
but  all  teaching  must  cease  ;  for,  oftentimes,  there  is  not  more 
difference  between  the  attainments  of  the  teacher  and  those 
of  his  best  pupils,  than  between  those  of  the  latter  and  of  the 
poorest  scholars.  The  wisest  and  best  of  us  go  to  church, 
and  to  lectures,  without  repugnance,  although  we  know  that 
the  preacher  or  the  lecturer  is  only  a  monitor,  who  knows, 
perhaps,  a  little  more  than  we  do  of  the  subject  under  consid- 
eration, but  who  would  perhaps  come  to  us  for  information  on 
many  other  subjects.  The  art  of  teaching  depends  more  upon 
adapting  the  explanation  to  the  capacity  of  the  learner,  than 
upon  the  amount  of  knowledge  accumulated  by  the  teacher. 
Is  it  unreasonable,  then,  to  suppose  that  the  explanations  of 
children  may  sometimes  be  better  suited  to  the  understanding 
of  children,  than  those  of  adults  would  be  ?  I  am  not  ashamed 
to  own  that  I  often  called  on  my  monitors  to  explain  what  I  had 
failed  to  make  a  little  scholar  apprehend.  When  I  began  to 
teach,  I  was  for  a  long  time  obliged  to  study  in  the  evening 
what  I  was  to  teach  the  next  morning ;  and  I  believe  I  suc- 
ceeded better  then  in  explaining  those  lessons,  than  I  did  after- 
wards when  the  subject  had  become  familiar  to  me.  What 
was  I  but  a  monitor ;  and  what  else  was  I  ever  afterwards  ? 

It  is  also  objected  against  Monitorial  Schools,  that  they  are 
necessarily  noisy.  Now,  there  are  two  kinds  of  noise,  that  of 
disorder,  which  is  useless,  and  that  of  business,  which  is  some- 
times unavoidable.  If  several  classes  are  reciting  at  once, 
more  noise  may  be  made  than  where  only  one  is  reciting  in 


THE    MONITORIAL   SYSTEM.  199 

the  old  mode ;  but  this  is  not  necessarily  the  case,  for,  in  small 
classes  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  loud,  and  as  all  are  em- 
ployed, there  are  no  idlers  to  make  the  noise  that  often  inter- 
rupts the  single  recitation  of  common  schools,  and  furnishes 
victims  for  the  rod.  To  my  ear,  however,  the  hum  of  busi- 
ness is  much  more  agreeable  than  the  stillness  of  inactivity 
and  idleness.  If  I  owned  a  cotton  factory,  I  should  be  glad 
to  be  rid  of  the  noise,  but  I  should  be  rather  simple  to  stop  all 
the  spindles  but  one  to  procure  silence.  I  would  not  tolerate 
any  noise  that  was  unaccompanied  with  work,  but,  after  I  had 
perfected  the  machinery,  and  oiled  all  the  wheels,  I  would 
keep  up  the  steam,  and  get  used  to  the  noise  as  busy  workmen 
easily  do.  The  sacrifice,  therefore,  of  industry,  and  often  of 
happiness  and  humanity,  to  the  god  of  silence,  is  an  idolatry, 
which,  if  not  paid  to  stocks  and  stones,  has  a  tendency  to  make 
stocks  and  stones  of  the  worshippers.  "  You  may  play,  if 
you  will  make  no  noise,"  said  a  teacher  to  her  pupils. 
"  Thank  you,  ma'am,"  said  they;  "such  play  would  be  too 
much  like  work." 

Finally,  it  is  objected,  that,  if  teaching  helps  a  monitor,  only 
a  few  are  helped,  and  as  the  monitors  are  taught  exclusively 
by  the  master,  and  the  rest  have  only  his  occasional  care, 
those  who  are  not  monitors  must  suffer.  In  schools  on  every 
plan,  the  teacher  bestows  more  personal  attention  upon  the 
best  scholars  than  upon  the  lower  classes.  But,  if  the  teacher 
bestows  more  time  upon  the  monitor  of  the  present  season,  the 
next  year,  when  those  who  are  pupils  now  have  become  moni- 
tors, they  will  have  the  same  exclusive  care,  and  the  aggregate 
of  personal  attention  will  be  about  the  same.  If  it  be  urged 
that  some  pupils  will  never  be  fit  for  monitors,  then  my  expe- 
rience tells  me  that  great  practice  under  monitors  is  better 
for  such,  than  the  slight  attention  that  teachers  can  pay  to  dull 
scholars.  Besides,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  teacher 
is  always  active,  and  will  give  such  children  as  much  of  his 
time  as  they  would  have  had,  if  no  monitors  had  been  em- 
ployed. The  mischief  most  to  be  feared  is  that  the  masters 
will  use  the  monitors  as  substitutes,  and  not  as  mere  assist- 
ants ;  and  will  look  on,  when  they  should  be  at  work.  The 
great  wheel  that  moves  all  the  little  wheels  in  a  factory  might 
as  well  stop  to  see  how  the  others  get  on. 

But  I  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  replying  to  objections, 
for  there  are  positive  advantages  in  the  Monitorial  Plan, 
when  properly  employed,  and  I  must  briefly  notice  a  few  of 


200  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

them.  I  have  already  hinted  that  one  of  the  greatest  evils 
inseparable  from  the  common  plan,  is  the  defective  classifica- 
tion. If  the  teacher  makes  many  classes,  he  must  slight  them 
all ;  for  the  more  classes  he  has,  the  less  time  he  can  bestow 
upon  each.  The  teacher,  therefore,  of  a  large  school,  makes 
as  few  classes  as  possible,  and,  of  course,  brings  together 
children  whose  capacities  are  very  unequal ;  and  then,  if  he 
sets  a  lesson  to  give  full  employment  to  the  brightest  pupils, 
he  oppresses  the  poorer  scholars ;  and  how  often  are  they 
punished  for  imperfect  recitations,  when  the  teacher  only  is  to 
blame  for  overtasking  their  capacities.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
the  humane  teacher  sets  the  large  class  a  short  lesson,  in 
mercy  to  the  feeble  intellects,  he  represses  the  ardor  of  the 
brighter  scholars,  and  by  keeping  them  only  half  employed, 
exposes  them  to  the  temptations  of  idleness. 

Again,  in  these  large  classes,  children  are  brought  together 
with  little  or  no  regard  to  their  peculiar  talents.  One  may  be 
a  good  reader  but  a  poor  arithmetician ;  another  may  be  a 
good  arithmetician  but  a  bad  geographer ;  a  third  may  be  a 
good  geographer  but  a  bad  grammarian,  and  so  on  ;  and  few 
will  be  found  to  excel  in  every  branch.  No  matter,  all  must 
work  together,  however  unlike,  and  this  defect  seems  to  be 
inseparable  from  the  classification  of  our  large  schools. 

Now  the  evils  arising  from  imperfect  classification  are  all 
remedied  by  the  Monitorial  Plan,  for  the  teacher  can  make  as 
many  classes  as  are  necessary  to  bring  all  scholars  of  equal 
attainments  or  capacity  together.  No  class,  perhaps,  except 
his  own,  contains  more  than  six  or  eight,  and,  if  necessary,  a 
single  child  may  have  a  separate  monitor,  if  she  needs  extra- 
ordinary care,  or  is  unfit  to  go  with  any  other  in  the  school. 
The  teacher  takes  whichsoever  class  needs  him  most ;  the 
monitors,  all  under  his  eye,  take  the  rest,  and,  generally,  all 
are  reciting  at  the  same  time.  These  small  classes  get  an 
immense  amount  of  practice,  and  every  child  may  easily  be 
made  to  recite  the  whole  lesson,  and  not  merely  one  or  two 
questions  of  it.  I  always  required  the  whole  lesson  to  be 
recited  by  every  pupil. 

But  the  classification  is  different  in  every  branch  of  study, 
and  every  child  who  has  any  talent  has  a  chance  to  rise  and 
improve  it.  It  is  no  great  stretch  of  credulity  to  believe,  as  I 
do,  that  a  monitor,  selected  in  this  way  for  his  skill  in  one 
branch,  and  required  only  to  teach  that  branch,  may  succeed 
as  well  in  teaching  his  single  study  to  beginners,  as  the  teacher 


THE   MONITORIAL   SYSTEM.  201 

will,  who  is  required  to  teach  many  branches,  who,  perhaps, 
excels  in  none  of  them,  and  can  hardly  be  expected  to  excel 
in  all. 

Again ;  in  common  schools,  it  is  difficult  for  a  teacher  to 
keep  alive  in  the  minds  of  his  pupils  what  he  has  taught 
them.  It  is  necessary  to  drop  the  lower  branches,  or  even  the 
elementary  part  of  the  same  branch,  as  the  pupil  advances; 
and  a  review  of  past  studies,  to  which  some  good  teachers 
resort,  rarely  goes  further  back  than  the  last  branch  studied, 
and  not  only  interrupts  business,  but  generally  is  equivalent 
to  teaching  the  whole  matter  over  again.  No  exercise  is  so 
often  dropped  in  this  way  as  spelling ;  and  I  have  often 
known  a  first  class,  who  had  thrown  aside  the  spelling- 
book,  unable  to  spell  decently.  In  answering  fourteen  ques- 
tions in  grammar,  the  first  division  of  the  first  classes  in  the 
Boston  grammar  schools,  averaging  about  fourteen  years  of 
age,  misspelled  924  words,  and  some  of  these  the  easiest  in 
the  language.  I  do  not  believe,  however,  that  these  pupils 
were  worse  than  pupils  elsewhere. 

Now  the  Monitorial  Plan  effectually  meets  this  evil.  By 
teaching  the  younger  children,  the  more  advanced  are  con- 
stantly reviewing  their  studies,  not  by  learning  merely,  but 
by  the  surer  method  of  teaching  what  they  have  learned  to 
others.  In  reality,  the  children  never  drop  any  study  till  they 
drop  the  school,  and  never  need  to  do  so.  If  it  be  objected, 
that  only  monitors  enjoy  this  privilege,  it  may  be  answered, 
that  monitors  only  need  it,  their  pupils  not  yet  having  any 
study  to  drop.  But  the  fact  is,  the  ingenious  teacher  will,  at 
times,  make  monitors  of  all  his  pupils,  and  thus  give  them 
practice,  if  they  do  not  need  any  review.  I  often  employed 
my  second  class  in  showing  beginners  how  to  study  their 
lessons ;  a  duty  that  teachers  themselves  are  too  apt  to  neg- 
lect, and  to  lay  upon  the  parents,  although  it  is  often  far 
more  difficult  and  important  than  the  hearing  of  the  recita- 
tion afterwards.  No  child,  but  the  very  lowest,  was  so  low 
that  she  could  not  teach  something,  and  that  something  I 
always  required  her  to  teach  if  possible.  Once,  when  I  made 
this  remark  to  a  visiter,  he  pointed  to  a  little  girl,  not  yet  four 
years  old,  and  who  had  only  been  taught  a  few  of  the  letters, 
and  asked,  "  Can  you  make  a  monitor  of  her?"  "To  be 
sure,"  said  I ;  and  knowing  that  she  had  a  large  rag-baby  in 
her  desk,  I  asked  her  if  her  dolly  knew  her  A,  B,  C.  "  No, 
thir,"  said  she.  "Can  you  teach  them  to  her?"  said  I. 


202  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

"  Yeth  thir,"  said  she.  I  gave  her  a  piece  of  chalk,  led  her 
before  the  black-board,  and  told  her  to  do  as  the  monitor  did. 
She  at  once  chalked  A  upon  the  board,  and  held  her  doll  up 
before  it ;  but  finding  it  difficult  to  get  the  idea  into  her  pupil's 
head,  she  adopted  an  expedient  that,  I  will  venture  to  say,  not 
one  adult  in  a  thousand  would  have  thought  of,  —  she  rubbed 
the  letters  into  the  doll's  head  by  rubbing  them  out  with  it. 

There  is  a  common  notion  that  knowledge  easily  acquired 
is  as  easily  lost;  and,  therefore,  learning  should  be  made 
somewhat  difficult,  that  the  labor  of  acquisition  may  prevent 
too  rapid  progress,  and  impress  the  words  or  the  ideas  more 
deeply  on  the  mind.  But  this  principle  will  apply  as  justly 
to  the  repair  of  roads,  and  prove  the  impolicy  of  a  highway 
tax ;  since  the  worse  the  road  the  more  careful  will  be  the 
driver, and  the  more  attentive  the  passengers;  and  the  longer 
the  journey  is,  the  more  pleasant  will  its  end  be,  and  the 
aching  bones  will  more  powerfully  come  to  the  aid  of  mem- 
ory. There  is  no  royal  road  to  knowledge  which  the  privi- 
leged only  may  travel ;  but  there  may  be  a  rail-road,  nay, 
there  must  be  one,  or  all  progress  must  cease.  I  am  not  like 
the  honest  Scotch  schoolmaster,  who,  when  asked  why  he 
did  not  teach  his  pupils  a  certain  part  of  mathematics  by  a 
new  process  which  shortened  it  amazingly,  replied,  "  Ye 
dinna  think  I  'd  teach  the  blackguards  in  a  week,  what  it  cost 
me  a  year  or  twa  to  learn !  "  For  my  part,  I  had  rather 
travel  a  road  two  or  three  times  over  in  a  comfortable  way,  if 
once  going  over  it  is  not  enough,  than  receive  any  of  those 
deeper  impressions  of  a  more  painful  route.  I  consider  an 
idea  like  a  town,  and  am  content  to  reach  it  by  the  shortest 
and  easiest  road. 

But  the  most  crying  evil  in  our  common  schools  is  that 
alluded  to  at  the  commencement  of  this  lecture,  —  the  want  of 
constant  employment.  One  class  only  can  recite  to  the  master 
at  a  time,  and,  of  that  class,  but  one  child  at  a  time.  It  is  true 
that  the  rest  are  expected  to  attend,  but  they  do  not,  and  it  is 
useless  to  deny  the  fact.  Now,  if  there  is  idleness  and  inat- 
tention in  the  very  class  that  is  reciting  to  the  teacher,  what 
may  we  expect  to  find  in  the  rest  of  the  school  ?  What  do  we 
find  there  ?  Idleness  and  all  its  fruits,  from  innocent  sleep  up 
to  active  mischief.  It  is  true,  that  classes  not  reciting  are 
expected  to  study  their  lessons ;  and  some  children,  no  doubt, 
do  this ;  but  the  majority  do  no  such  thing.  Now,  just  in 
proportion  as  the  Monitorial  Plan  diminishes  the  number  of 


THE    MONITORIAL    SYSTEM.  203 

pupils  in  a  class,  and  increases  the  number  of  teachers,  it 
diminishes  the  opportunities  for  idleness  and  mischief.  By 
the  judicious  employment  of  monitors,  and  the  proper  selec- 
tion and  change  of  studies,  the  children  can  be  all  usefully 
employed,  and  employed  all  the  time. 

Again ;  on  the  old  plan,  as  the  children  of  a  large  school 
cannot  be  classed  so  that  they  can  work  advantageously 
together,  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  remove  the  evil  by 
having  several  grades  of  schools,  as  the  infant,  the  primary, 
the  intermediate,  the  grammar,  and  the  high  school.  This 
arrangement,  no  doubt,  is  a  great  improvement,  and  dimin- 
ishes the  difficulty  of  classing  the  pupils ;  but  it  does  not  re- 
move idleness,  —  it  does  not  reduce  the  number  in  a  class,  —  it 
does  not  produce  equality  of  talents  or  attainments ;  for  the 
schools  are  classed  by  age  generally,  and  classing  them  by 
age  will  do  no  more  towards  bringing  equals  together,  than 
will  classing  them  by  the  number  of  feet  and  inches  that  they 
measure.  The  Monitorial  Plan  renders  all  this  separation  of 
ages  unnecessary ;  for  the  charm  of  a  school  on  this  plan  is 
the  gradation  of  ages, — the  presence  of  the  little  ones  always 
having  a  kindly  influence  upon  the  benevolent  feelings  of  the 
older  pupils,  while  the  example  of  the  latter  assists  the 
example  of  the  teacher,  and  gives  to  him  a  sort  of  ubiquity. 
I  generally  found,  too,  that  little  children,  who  witnessed  the 
exercises  of  the  more  advanced  pupils,  learned  so  much,  that, 
when  promoted  to  a  new  study,  they  were  half  acquainted 
with  it.  In  schools  that  are  classed,  the  primaries  see  noth- 
ing of  what  the  grammar  scholars  do,  and  these  are  ignorant 
of  what  is  done  in  the  high  school.  This  classification  of 
schools  sometimes  separates  the  older  children  of  a  family 
from  the  younger,  when  their  protection  is  almost  indispen- 
sable. The  proportion  of  ages  in  a  common  district  school  is 
favorable  to  the  use  of  monitors;  and,  if  two  or  three  districts 
unite,  so  much  the  better ;  for  they  may  employ  a  first-rate 
teacher,  who,  with  the  aid  of  his  pupils,  will  do  more  in  the 
united  school  than  three  poor  teachers  could  do  in  their  sep- 
arate districts,  and  do  it  three  times  as  well ;  for  a  good 
monitor,  under  a  good  teacher,  is  worth  more  than  a  poor 
teacher  alone.  When  the  schools  are  classed,  the  child  who 
leaves  the  primary  school  leaves  the  teacher  also,  who  has 
laid  the  foundation  of  his  education,  and  goes  to  another,  who 
builds  upon  a  foundation  that  he  did  not  lay,  and,  after  a 
while,  leaves  the  work  to  be  completed  by  a  third.  How  this 


204  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

plan  would  operate  in  the  building  of  a  temple,  any  one  can 
guess ;  and  yet  the  comparison  of  the  material  with  the  intel- 
lectual temple,  shows  a  perfect  parallel. 

I  shall  name  but  one  advantage  more,  and  this  is  of  im- 
mense importance.  Every  pupil  educated  in  a  monitorial 
school  becomes  a  teacher.  This  is  important  even  in  a  pecu- 
niary point  of  view ;  but  it  has  higher  claims  than  merely 
affording  a  respectable  means  of  support.  If  it  be  said,  as  it 
has  been,  by  parents,  "  I  do  not  expect  my  child  ever  to 
become  a  teacher,"  it  may  be  asked,  "  Do  you  never  expect 
him  or  her  to  become  a  parent?"  And  is  it  of  no  advantage 
to  a  parent  to  be  able  to  educate  his  own  children,  or  to  know 
how  to  superintend  this  all-important  concern  ?  Many  of  my 
pupils,  with  no  other  preparation  than  they  obtained  from 
acting  as  monitors,  have  become  teachers  of  excellent  schools, 
without  feeling  at  all  embarrassed.  Once,  when  the  trustees 
of  my  school  had  tried  several  adult  teachers  in  the  needle- 
work and  drawing  department,  which  was  conducted  when  I 
was  not  present,  and  had  concluded  to  abandon  the  enterprise, 
from  the  inability  of  the  teachers  to  conduct  so  large  a  school, 
I  proposed  that  one  of  my  monitors,  then  only  seventeen  years 
of  age,  should  be  allowed  to  try  her  skill ;  and  although  the 
pupils  were  all  her  fellow-scholars,  and  some  nearly  as  old  as 
herself,  she  conducted  the  school  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
all  concerned,  until  she  was  married,  four  years  afterwards. 

The  want  of  competent  teachers  is  felt  and  acknowledged 
throughout  our  land,  and  great  efforts  are  making  to  furnish 
an  adequate  supply.  Although  I  believe  teaching  to  be  a 
natural  gift,  as  much  as  poetry  or  music,  still,  like  them,  it  is 
an  art  that  must  be  studied  and  cultivated,  and  one  that,  per- 
haps, will  be  hidden,  unless  an  opportunity  is  afforded  for  its 
exercise.  Acquiring  knowledge  is  not  acquiring  the  art  of 
teaching,  any  more  than  accumulating  money  is  the  same  as 
active  beneficence.  Not  one  learned  man  in  a  thousand  is 
able  to  communicate  what  he  knows,  clearly  and  simply,  to  a 
child.  Practice  is  necessary ;  but  few  have  this,  until  they 
are  called  on  to  instruct.  How  different  is  the  case  where 
children,  as  fast  as  they  learn,  are  required  to  impart  what 
they  have  learned  to  others.  The  truth  is,  that  a  well-con- 
ducted Monitorial  School  is  the  best  normal  school  in  the 
world  ;  for  practice  goes  with  precept  every  step  of  the  way. 
If  our  common  schools  were  conducted,  even  in  part,  on  the 
monitorial  plan,  those  children  who  have  any  tact,  any  pecu- 


THE    MONITORIAL   SYSTEM.  205 

liar  love  or  aptness  for  teaching,  would  soon  show  it ;  and 
who  does  not  see  that  pupils  thus  brought  out  would  furnish 
the  very  best  stock  for  normal  schools,  and  the  demand  for 
teachers  would  not  only  be  supplied,  but  would  be  supplied 
with  teachers  of  the  true  birth,  born  and  bred  to  their  busi- 
ness ?  Our  normal  schools  have  done  immense  good  under 
every  disadvantage  ;  but  many  of  the  pupils  who  have  entered 
them  have  lacked  the  necessary  degree  of  knowledge,  as  well 
as  the  true  spirit  of  teaching  ;  and  this  must  continue  to  be  the 
case  until  preparatory  schools,  in  which  the  Monitorial  Plan 
is  used,  are  connected  with  the  normals ;  or  until  the  common 
schools  are  so  generally  conducted  on  this  plan,  that  a  full 
supply  of  suitable  teachers  can  be  selected  from  them. 

The  precept  of  our  great  Teacher,  that,  "  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive,"  is  true  in  intellectual  as  well  as  in 
material  things.  Teaching  is  learning,  and  learning  of  the 
very  best  kind.  I  appeal  to  teachers  of  common,  private  and 
high  schools,  and  ask,  whether  every  faithful  attempt  to  teach 
the  children  under  their  care  does  not  increase  and  improve 
their  own  knowledge  ?  I  appeal  to  parents,  and  ask,  if  every 
attempt  to  educate  their  own  children  does  not  also  educate 
themselves  ?  I  appeal  to  all  lecturers,  preachers,  and  others, 
who  try  to  instruct  their  fellow-men,  and  I  ask  whether  teach- 
ing is  not  learning  ?  I  appeal  to  all  the  young  teachers  in  our 
Sunday  schools,  many  of  whom  are  but  monitors,  and  yet 
are  safely  intrusted  to  teach  those  mysteries  which  angels 
cannot  fathom,  although  in  the  district  school  they  are  not 
allowed  to  teach  reading,  spelling,  and  arithmetic,  —  I  appeal 
to  these  young  coadjutors  of  our  divine  Master,  and  ask  them, 
if,  when  they  are  pointing  out  to  their  young  pupils  the  path 
to  heaven,  they  are  not  compelled  to  advance  therein  them- 
selves? 

We  need  more  good  teachers,  and  must  have  them.  He 
who  thinks  otherwise,  must  be  blind  to  the  signs  of  the  times  ; 
to  that  bigotry,  which  hopes  to  thrive  in  the  general  igno- 
rance ;  to  that  selfish  pride,  which  looks  with  coldness  upon  all 
,  attempts  to  raise  the  mass  by  the  agency  of  common  schools ; 
to  that  infidelity,  which,  half  instructed,  fancies  itself  to  be 
the  only  true  wisdom  ;  to  that  disregard  of  law,  which  blindly 
claims  to  be  the  only  true  liberty ;  and  to  that  restless  love  of 
novelty,  which  rejects  the  most  solemn  lessons  of  experience. 
Impressed  with  the  necessity  of  creating  a  higher  race  of 
teachers,  and  of  providing  surer  and  better  methods  of  instruc- 
18 


206  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

tion,  I  have  ventured  to  plead  the  cause  of  a  system  which 
has  few  acquaintances,  and,  of  course,  fewer  friends.  I  have 
no  private  interest  to  subserve,  for  I  am  no  longer  a  teacher, 
and  I  have  made  no  book  that  is  better  fitted  for  instruction 
on  this  plan  than  on  any  other.  I  believe  that  the  prevalent 
mode  of  instruction  is  defective  in  some  vital  points,  which  the 
mode  I  advocate  seems  to  be  eminently  fitted  to  remedy.  I 
do  not  conceal  the  fact  that  the  system  has  been  tried  some- 
what extensively  and  laid  aside,  but  the  same  thing  once 
happened  to  the  greatest  of  all  improvements,  or  Luther  was 
no  reformer.  I  am  aware  that  many  obstacles  will  arise,  and 
some  experiments  may  fail,  in  making  the  change  of  systems 
that  I  propose,  but  the  schools  have  less  to  fear  from  this  than 
from  remaining  as  they  are.  "  Let  well  enough  alone,"  is 
high  treason  in  these  days,  when  the  perfection  of  our  schools 
is  to  our  institutions  the  only  hope  of  salvation.  Nor  do  I 
speak  as  a  mere  theorist.  I  have  taught  on  this  system  more 
than  twenty  years  ;  I  have  taught  large  numbers  of  the  rich 
and  of  the  poor — the  cared-for  and  the  neglected;  I  have 
taught  the  elements  and  the  advanced  studies,  and  all  this  in 
a  community  boasting  of  its  schools,  and  sternly  opposed  to 
innovation ;  I  know  what  the  system  can  do,  and  I  am  ready 
to  stake  the  welfare  of  the  coming  generation  upon  a  fair 
experiment. 

Perhaps  few  teachers  will  be  safe  in  introducing  the  entire 
system  at  once ;  a  wiser  plan  will  be  to  employ  only  a  few 
monitors,  and  these  with  caution,  until  practice  gives  confi- 
dence, and  success  removes  the  existing  prejudice.  But  in 
recommending  this  system  to  teachers,  I  ought  not  to  conceal 
the  fact  that  they  who  employ  monitors  must  be  more  vigilant, 
more  active,  more  industrious  than  those  on  the  old  plan ;  for, 
what  the  teacher  is,  the  monitors  will  most  assuredly  be. 
Remember,  however,  that  the  labor,  though  doubled,  will  be 
less  fatiguing  to  both  pupils  and  teacher ;  for  there  will  be  a 
life  in  the  instruction,  a  charm  in  the  intercourse  of  teacher, 
monitor  and  pupil,  which  no  labor  can  weary,  and  no  ordinary 
vexations  disturb.  You  will,  for  a  time  at  least,  be  troubled 
by  the  fears  of  parents  and  the  incredulity,  perhaps,  of  com- 
mittees, who,  naturally,  will  lack  faith  until  you  give  them 
experience ;  and  therefore  you  must  possess  your  souls  in 
patience,  and  persevere  in  meekness.  When  told,  as  you 
will  be,  of  the  importance  of  silence  in  school ;  speak  of  the 
greater  importance  of  industry  every  where,  —  If  the  system  is 


THE   MONITORIAL  SYSTEM.  207 

stigmatized  as  a  pauper  system  ;  comfort  yourselves  with  the 
reflection  that  your  blessed  religion  is  a  religion  for  the  poor ; 
not  to  keep  them  so,  but  to  make  them  rich.  —  If  told  that 
your  monitors  are  imperfect;  acknowledge  with  unfeigned 
humility  that  you  are  imperfect  also.  —  If  told  that  your  moni- 
tors do  not  govern  wisely ;  acknowledge  frankly,  what  will  no 
doubt  be  the  truth,  that  you  have  not  shown  them  how.  —  If  told 
that,  once  in  a  while,  a  monitor  is  partial  or  unfaithful ;  you 
may  whisper  a  suspicion,  that,  once  in  a  while,  teachers,  too, 
are  partial  and  unfaithful.  —  If  told  that  the  knowledge  of 
your  monitors  is  imperfect;  you  may  hint,  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment, that  that  of  teachers  is  not  always  perfect.  —  If  told  that, 
in  exercising  their  judgment,  monitors  sometimes  err  ;  do  not 
be  so  rash  as  to  assert  that  teachers  also  sometimes  err,  but 
ask,  if  children  had  not  better  sometimes  err  than  never  exer- 
cise their  judgment?  —  If  told  that  a  monitorial  school  is  more 
noisy  than  others  ;  express  a  quiet  hope  that  there  will  be  less 
chance  to  sleep  in  it.  —  If  told  that  children  cannot,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  teach  children ;  allow  that  this  is  strange, 
since  children  can  often  teach  adults.  —  If  your  classes  are  too 
large ;  cut  them  up,  in  the  full  belief  that,  with  them,  as  with 
the  polypus,  the  more  pieces  the  more  vitality.  —  If  told  that 
one  hour  under  a  teacher  is  better  than  ten  under  a  monitor ; 
be  sure  to  ask  who  that  teacher  is.  —  If  told  that  it  is  better  to 
recite  one  or  two  questions  to  a  master  than  the  whole  lesson 
to  a  monitor;  ask,  inquiringly,  which  are  the  healthiest 
children,  those  who  get  a  few  mouthfuls  of  dainty  food,  or 
those  who  get  as  much  as  they  can  eat  of  plain  but  wholesome 
fare.  —  If  told  that  monitors  must  spend  a  portion  of  their 
time  in  teaching  what  they  know  already ;  you  may  insinuate 
that  teachers  spend  all  theirs  in  the  same  manner.  —  If  told 
that  the  monitorial  plan  mixes  old  and  young  together ;  hint 
that,  in  the  great  school  of  the  world,  the  Almighty  does  the 
very  same  thing.  —  Finally,  if  told  that  the  use  of  monitors  is 
an  innovation  unknown  to  our  fathers  ;  after  doubting  the  fact, 
you  must,  in  justice  to  those  farsighted  men,  say,  that  the  very 
establishment  of  public  free  schools  by  them  was  also  an  inno- 
vation, a  most  glorious  innovation,  which  their  children  are 
called  upon  to  cherish  and  perfect,  without  prejudice  and  with- 
out fear. 


208  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


THE    USE    OF   MONITORS. 

I  DO  not  know  that  I  need  to  say  any  more  on  this  subject, 
for,  besides  the  lecture,  I  have,  in  this  volume,  frequently 
alluded  to  the  use  of  pupils  as  assistants  to  the  teacher.  It 
has  given  me  pleasure  to  hear  that  many  of  the  teachers  who 
attended  the  Institutes  last  autumn,  have  made  successful  use 
of  monitors  since,  and  have  never  been  so  well  satisfied  that 
they  did  their  duty  towards  their  employers.  I  have  not  heard 
that  any  one,  parent  or  commiitee-man,  has  objected  to  the 
improvement;  and,  if  the  teachers  are  judicious,  I  presume 
they  will  not  be  interfered  with,  and  checked  in  their  progress 
towards  a  thorough  reform.  From  every  quarter  I  hear  indi- 
cations of  a  better  feeling  toward  this  "  only  invention  of  the 
nineteenth  century,"  and  the  very  natural  hostility  of  teachers 
and  schools  who  have  no  enterprise,  and  whom  the  world 
has  gone  by,  cannot  prevent  the  general  adoption  of  a  plan, 
which  gives  us  more  and  better  instruction  at  half  the  expense, 
and  which  is  the  only  remedy  for  most  of  the  evils  under 
which  our  schools  have  groaned  for  at  least  a  century,  viz., 
want  of  teachers,  want  of  practice,  want  of  employment,  want 
of  discipline,  want  of  interest,  want  of  almost  every  thing. 

Just  twenty  years  ago,  at  the  request  of  William  Eussell, 
that  most  excellent  of  men  and  most  judicious  of  teachers,  I 
prepared  some  directions  for  the  introduction  of  the  system 
of  mutual  instruction  into  the  common  schools  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  he  published  them  in  a  small  manual.  The 
book  is  not  now  to  be  found,  and  I  may  be  excused  for  mak- 
ing a  few  extracts  from  it  touching  the  arrangement  of  a 
school-room. 

"  Mutual  instruction  was  first  introduced  to  save  the  expense  of 
teachers  in  large  schools  ;  but  experience  has  discovered  in  it  a  far 
greater  benefit,  which  is,  the  more  thorough  and  practical  education 
acquired  by  those  children  who  are  required  to  teach  as  well  as  learn  ; 
and,  in  a  well  ordered  school  on  the  monitorial  plan,  every  child, 
before  he  leaves  the  school,  is  employed  as  a  teacher.  In  schools, 
therefore,  of  only  twenty  or  thirty  scholars,  although  the  master 
may  feel  perfectly  competent  to  teach  them  all  personally,  still  it  is 
desirable  that  they  should  learn  the  use  of  his  instructions  by  trans- 
mitting them  to  the  younger  scholars. 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that,  in  our  common  school-rooms,  so  little 
regard  has  been  paid  to  the  convenience  of  the  master  and  pupils. 


THE    USE    OF    MONITORS.  209 

The  bench  of  one  desk  is  often  fastened  to  the  front  of  the  next  desk, 
so  as  to  allow  no  passage  behind  the  scholar,  and  to  oblige  him  to 
disturb  the  whole  row  when  he  wishes  to  leave  his  seat.  This 
arrangement  also  effectually  prevents  the  master  from  passing 
between  the  desks  to  examine  the  books  of  the  writers.  Another 
fault  of  construction  in  our  school-rooms  is,  that  the  forms  or  desks 
do  not  all  face  the  master's  desk.  This  prevents  his  having  a  com- 
manding view  of  the  whole,  and  the  scholars'  having  a  convenient 
view  of  him,  and  what  he  wishes  to  show  them.  Besides,  it  enables 
the  children  to  look  at  each  other,  —  a  serious  evil,  were  one  sex  only 
present,  but  much  more  serious,  when,  as  in  most  of  our  country 
schools,  both  sexes  are  in  the  same  room,  and  placed  opposite  to 
each  other.  These  are  the  two  greatest  defects  in  the  construction 
of  our  school-rooms,  and  it  is  desirable  that  they  should  be  remedied 
before  the  new  system  is  introduced ;  but  let  it  be  understood,  that 
the  new  system  may  be  tried  in  a  room  of  any  construction,  although 
its  advantages  cannot  be  so  fully  appreciated  as  when  the  room  is 
more  conveniently  arranged. 

"  The  annexed  diagram  will  give  some  idea  of  the  most  simple  and 
convenient  form  of  a  school-room  ;  and  school  committees  who  are 
about  to  erect  new  schoolhouses,  may  be  assured  that  the  arrange- 
ment we  propose  will  be  found  as  convenient  for  the  old  system  of 
instruction,  as  for  the  new,  besides  the  economy  of  room,  which  wiD 
be  evident.  The  size  of  the  room  is  about  30  by  24  feet,  and  will 
accommodate  60  children  with  ease,  but,  the  larger  the  room  the 
better  for  the  pupils,  the  teacher,  the  discipline,  the  neatness,  and 
other  important  points  of  a  good  school.  Black-boards  should 
surround  the  room,  or  at  least  be  behind  every  reciting  station,  and 
behind  the  master's  desk,  which  latter  should  be  ruled  as  I  have 
directed  under  the  head  of  Writing. 

"  The  diagram  represents  the  interior  of  a  school-room  only.  An 
anteroom,  or  wide  entrance,  should  be  built  at  the  end  where  the 
door  is,  and  should  be  well  lighted.  If  divided  in  the  centre,  so  that 
the  girls  may  have  a  separate  room  for  their  garments,  so  much  the 
better ;  and  in  this  case,  a  door  may  be  cut  at  A.  If  the  sexes  have 
different  yards,  so  that  they  can  take  recess  apart,  but  at  the  same 
time,  some  minutes  will  be  saved,  and  the  teacher  will  not  be  obliged 
to  stay  in  the  room  to  look  after  those  who  are  not  taking  recess.  It 
will  not  cost  much  to  dig  a  small  cellar  under  the  school-room,  that 
the  wood  may  not  be  covered  with  snow  or  look  unneat  in  winter  ; 
and,  if  a  small  furnace  is  placed  there,  by  which  fresh-heated  air  may 
be  sent  into  the  room,  many  a  life  will  be  saved.  The  school-room 
should  not  be  less  than  12  feet  high,  and  should  be  ventilated  at  the 
top  and  bottom. 

18* 


210 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

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Desks  20  inches  to  each  pupil. 
•  Stove    •             •    •                     *   ' 

Master's 
|  Door.  |                 Desk.                    |A| 

24  feet  in  width. 

"  The  semicircles,  as  they  are  called,  are  not  perfectly  so,  for  it  is 
found  that  the  shape  here  given  takes  up  less  room  and  is  more  con- 
venient for  the  class.  These  are  the  reciting  stations,  in  the  centre 
of  which  is  a  seat  for  the  monitor.  This  seat  may  be  a  permanent 
one,  a  desk,  or  a  chair  ;  or  the  monitor  may  be  required  to  stand, 
which  is  the  preferable  mode. 

"  There  should  not  be  less  than  eighteen  inches  between  the  ends 
of  the  semicircles,  so  that  children  standing  at  each  may  not  touch 
one  another. 

"  From  the  wall  to  the  front  of  the  semicircles  may  be  about  four 
feet ;  and  then  there  must  be  room  between  the  front  of  the  semi- 
circles and  the  desks,  to  allow  of  a  person's  passing  down  the  aisle, 
while  the  children  are  standing  at  the  stations.  One  foot  will  be 
sufficient,  thus  making  the  aisle  five  feet  wide. 

"  The  master's  desk  had  better  be  semicircular,  that  classes  may 


THE   TTSE    OF   MONITORS.  211 

occasionally  form  around  it,  and  recite  to  him.  It  should  be  elevated 
about  eighteen  inches  above  the  floor,  and  have  two  circular  steps, 
ten  inches  wide,  around  it.  Its  front  should  be  five  feet  from  the 
wall. 

"  The  narrow  aisle  on  the  left  side  of  the  school  will  be  found  con- 
venient, but  may  be  dispensed  with  if  the  other  aisle  is  a  wide  one. 

"  The  nearest  form  should  be  about  eight  feet  from  the  master's 
desk.  The  seats  for  the  scholars  may  be  separate  stools,  nailed  to 
the  floor,  or  single  benches  strongly  made  and  fastened.*  The  desk 
should  have  a  shelf  under  it,  to  hold  the  slate  and  books  of  the 
children. 

"  Between  the  seats  and  the  front  of  the  next  row,  should  be  a 
passage  way  of  fifteen  inches  width,  that  master  and  monitors  may 
pass  freely  behind  the  scholars. 

"  The  reading  stations,  6,  7  and  8,  behind  the  desks,  may  be  dis- 
pensed with,  if  there  are  enough  elsewhere,  and,  perhaps,  one  or 
two  may  be  made  by  the  door.  These  stations  should  be  marked  by 
grooves  in  the  floor,  cut  or  scratched.  Paint  is  sometimes  used,  but 
is  soon  effaced. 

"  The  desks  nearest  the  master's  phould  be  somewhat  lower  than 
the  others,  to  suit  the  smallest  children.  In  arranging  the  relative 
height  of  the  seats  and  desks  or  forms,  the  best  plan  is  to  set  a  child 
upon  the  seat,  and  place  the  form  just  high  enough  for  him  to  write 
and  keep  his  elbow  at  his  side,  and  let  it  slope  just  so  that  a  slate  mil 
not  slide  off  from  it.  Always  recollect  that  both  desk  and  seat  had 
better  be  too  low  than  too  high. 

"  Such  is  the  arrangement  we  should  propose,  and  a  judicious 
teacher  will  come  as  near  to  it  as  circumstances  will  allow.  If  he 
can  get  more  room,  so  much  the  better.  He  may  adopt  the  whole, 
or  a  part,  or  none  ;  for  it  is  possible  to  do  without  reading  stations ; 
the  monitor  sitting  at  the  end  of  a  bench,  and  the  children  standing 
in  a  semicircle  around  him.  It  is  better,  however,  for  the  classes  to 
read  towards  the  wall  than  towards  the  centre  of  the  room,  for  less 
noise  is  made,  and  there  is  less  to  distract  the  attention. 

"  In  regard  to  the  system  of  Mutual  Instruction,  it  should  be  under- 
stood that  there  are  various  modifications  of  it,  caused  by  a  greater 
or  less  deviation  from  the  old  method  of  saying  things  by  rote,  with- 
out exercising  the  judgment  or  proving  the  knowledge  of  the  pupil 
by  requiring  him  to  apply  it  to  some  practical  purpose.  In  some 
schools  on  the  new  plan,  monitors  are  used,  but  lessons  are  recited 
in  the  old  way,  without  explanation.  In  others,  the  children  are 
allowed  to  ask  an  explanation  of  the  monitor ;  and  the  monitor  is 
required  to  give  it.  We  mention  this  circumstance  because  many 
good  old-fashioned  ears  are  shocked  with  the  noise  necessarily  made 

*  JOSEPH  W.  INGBAHAM,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  has  invented  an  excellent  chair 
for  Primary  Schools.  It  is  easy,  strong-  and  cheap,  and  is  manufactured  by 
WILLIAM  G.  SHATTUCK,  No.  80,  Commercial  Street,  Boston.  Mr.  S.  also 
manufactures  a  Grammar  School  chair,  having  the  same  excellent  qualities. 
Specimens  can  be  examined  at  the  Publisher's  Book-store,  as  well  as  at  the 
manufactory. 


212  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

in  a  school  of  the  explanatory  kind,  and  may  judge  of  the  compara- 
tive merit  of  schools  by  their  comparative  silence  and  orderly  inaction. 
No  instructor  can  teach  a  class  without  frequently  speaking  to  them  ; 
and  the  same  indulgence  should  be  allowed  to  monitors  ;  the  only 
point  is,  to  check  unnecessary  conversation.  It  is  easy  to  keep  a 
silent  and  still  school ;  but  the  free  interchange  of  ideas  amongst  the 
pupils,  when  conducted  in  an  orderly  manner,  is  productive  of  much 
good,  and  should  be  encouraged.  Noise  is  only  injurious  when  it 
obstructs  business ;  and  in  monitorial  schools,  well-regulated  noise  is 
rather  an  indication  of  industry  than  of  disorder.  It  should  be  recol- 
lected also  that  those  who  make  a  noise  are  not  those  most  offended 
by  it.  The  tin  kettle  discourses  excellent  music  to  the  child  who 
beats  it ;  the  cotton  factory  stuns  all  but  the  workmen. 

"  We  shall  conclude  with  one  word  of  advice  to  school-committees. 
As  the  success  of  any  system  depends  upon  an  impartial  exercise  of 
it,  and  as  the  system  proposed  in  this  manual  requires  more  exercise 
of  the  judgment  of  children  than  any  other,  it  must  be  your  endeavor 
to  second  the  exertions  of  the  master.  Encourage  him  to  deal 
impartially  with  all.  Submit  your  own  children  entirely  to  his  guid- 
ance ;  allow  them  no  distinction  to  which  their  merit  does  not  entitle 
them.  The  aristocracy  of  cities  is  proverbial ;  but  you  must  have 
seen  that  few  country  schools  are  free  from  family  influence.  Frown 
upon  all  such  distinctions  *  and  recollect  that  undeserved  promotion  will 
not  excite  your  own  children  to  exertion,  but  will  discourage  those 
who  have  nothing  beside  their  own  exertions  to  depend  upon,  and 
who,  keenly  feeling  their  wrongs,  will  entertain  but  a  poor  opinion  of 
your  justice.  Be  generous  towards  the  teachers  you  employ.  Be 
careful  to  select  a  man  of  mild  temper  and  pure  morals  ;  and  when 
you  have  found  such  a  one,  let  not  the  whole  term  of  his  service  be 
embittered  by  the  reflection  that  his  services  are  undervalued.  How 
can  you  expect  a  man  to  devote  himself  to  the  school  under  such 
circumstances?  Depend  upon  it  he  will  give  you  only  the  money's 
worth  of  his  time  and  exertions  ;  and  this  is  all  you  can  reasonably 
expect.  We  mention  the  subject  of  salaries,  because  we  believe 
they  are  generally  too  low  to  induce  a  gentleman  of  talents  to  under- 
take the  charge  of  a  village  school,  and  because  to  this  circumstance, 
more  than  to  any  other,  (if  we  except  the  short  term  for  which  a 
male  teacher  is  employed,)  may  be  attributed  the  low  standard  of 
education  in  our  common  schools.  If  you  cannot  afford  any  additional 
expense,  let  a  small  piece  of  ground  be  cultivated  annually  by  the 
boys  for  the  benefit  of  the  school ;  or  let  the  clergyman  and  select- 
men see  that  those  who  have  nothing  to  spare  to  educate  their  chil- 
dren, spare  nothing  for  the  indulgence  of  some  useless  or  pernicious 
habit." 

# 

The  following  letter,  from  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
experienced  female  teachers  of  Barnstable  county,  may  serve 
to  show  what  evils  exist,  and  may  furnish  the  text  for  a  few 
remarks  on  classification. 


THE   TTSE   OF   MONITORS.  213 

B ,  Nov.  19,  1846. 

MR.  FOWLE, 

Dear  Sir, 

In  less  than  two  weeks  from  this  time, 

I  shall,  probably,  find  myself  surrounded  by  some  fifty 
or  sixty  pupils  of  all  ages,  and  of  various  attainments.  In 
view  of  this  responsibility,  and  wishing  to  secure  the  greatest 
amount  of  good  to  every  member  of  my  school,  I  often  ask 
myself,  how  shall  I  classify  my  school  ?  During  my  past  teach- 
ing, I  have  tried,  by  way  of  experiment,  several  modes  of 
classification,  but  have  never  been  fully  satisfied  with  any  of 
them.  The  question  comes  up  renewedly,  since  the  Institute 
in  our  county,  and  I  have  said  to  myself,  I  wish  I  could  see 
Mr.  F.,  and  avail  myself  of  his  suggestions. 

You  are  aware,  sir,  of  the  increased  difficulties  to  be  sur- 
mounted in  schools  like  ours,  compared  with  those  of  your 
city,  and  that  a  teacher's  plans  must  be  graduated,  not  according 
to  his  views  of  what  a  school  should  be,  or  to  what  it  may 
become  at  some  future  time,  but  according  to  what  it  is  NOW. 
I  must  descend  to  a  level  with  the  present  system  of  school 
discipline  and  classification,  bad  as  it  is,  as  a  starting  point, 
and  endeavor  to  raise  the  whole  en  masse  to  a  higher  degree 
of  excellence. 

I  should  like  to  know,  in  particular,  if  some  general  method 
of  classification  might  not  be  adopted,  by  which  the  whole 
school,  or  the  greater  part  of  it,  may  be  exercised  at  once. 
For  instance,  might  not  an  hour  be  given  to  arithmetic, 
exclusively ;  another  to  grammar ;  a  third  to  reading ;  a 
fourth  to  spelling,  and  so  on.  The  idea  to  me  is  a  new  one, 
but  it  strikes  me  that  some  arrangement  of  this  kind  might  be 
made,  that  would  be  much  better  than  any  I  have  adopted 
heretofore  ;  and  which,  by  directing  the  attention  of  the  whole 
to  the  same  subject,  would  diminish  idleness.  Such  a  course 
would  require  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  subjects 
taught,  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  to  enable  him  to  supply  the 
place  of  textbooks  to  his  pupils;  and  would  have  a  tendency 
to  make  a  teacher  what  he  should  always  aim  to  be,  "  A 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  thoroughly  furnished 
unto  every  good  work." 

Wishing  you  success  in  all  your  efforts  to  elevate  the  con- 
dition of  our  public  schools,  I  am,  sir,  yours,  &c.  &c. 

This  enterprising  teacher,  if  allowed  to  follow  the  bent  of 
her  mind,  would,  I  think,  soon  settle  down  upon  the  Monito- 


214  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

rial  System ;  for  this,  and  nothing  else,  will  enable  her  to  carry 
out  the  rational  classification  of  which  she  has,  through  suf- 
fering, obtained  a  glimpse.  Let  me  say,  then,  in  a  few  words, 
how  I  should  manage  such  a  school,  if  called  on  to  teach  it, 
and  allowed  to  do  as  I  thought  best. 

On  the  day  appointed  for  opening  the  school,  I  should  re- 
quire every  child  who  intended  to  be  a  pupil,  to  bring  his  last 
writing-book,  which  I  should  ask  permission  to  keep  till  the 
end  of  the  term.  I  should  ask  the  children  to  stand  in  alpha- 
betical order,  and  then  I  should  take  a  list  of  the  names. 
Having  ruled  several  columns  at  the  right  hand  of  the  list,  I 
should  begin  to  examine  the  pupils  in  the  several  branches, 
recording  the  result  opposite  each  name,  as  I  advanced.  Let 
all  stand  in  a  line,  according  to  age  or  size,  and  if  any  do  not 
know  their  letters,  separate  them  into  the  first  class,  send  them 
to  a  black-board,  and  let  a  large  pupil  teach  them  in  the  method 
I  have  described  under  the  head  of  Reading.  As  these  little 
ones  are  well  employed,  they  will  not  trouble  me  while  class- 
ing the  rest. 

I  now  take  a  reading-book,  say  my  Primary  Reader,  or 
Swan's  Second  Part,  and,  as  each  of  the  remaining  pupils 
reads  in  turn,  I  mark  against  his  name  1,  2,  3,  or  4,  as  he 
reads  well  or  ill,  the  best  readers  having  the  highest  numbers. 
This  trial  will  probably  enable  me  to  pick  out  such  as  can 
hardly  read  the  lowest  class-books,  and  these  I  can  send  away 
to  read  under  one  who  has  read  better  than  the  rest.  I  let 
the  class  read  again,  in  a  higher  book,  say  Swan's  Grammar 
School  Reader,  marking  the  quality  of  their  reading  as  before, 
and  I  keep  them  reading,  until  I  have  separated  them  into 
classes  of  6,  8  or  10,  to  my  satisfaction.  Suppose  that  there 
are  60  pupils,  of  whom  6  are  in  the  alphabet,  8  in  Swan's  First 
Book,  8  in  the  Primary  Reader,  6  in  Swan's  Third  Part,  8 
in  Swan's  Grammar  School  Reader,  10  in  the  same  book,  and 
14  in  the  District  School  Reader.  From  this  highest  class,  I 
should  select  my  monitors  of  reading.  I  could  detach  six  of 
them  to  hear  the  other  classes  read,  while  I  heard  the  rest  of 
the  highest  class,  say  15  or  20  minutes.  Then  I  could  detach 
six  of  those  who  had  read  to  me,  to  take  the  place  of  the 
monitors,  and  let  them  have  a  chance  to  read  to  me.  If  I  am 
faithful  to  my  highest  class,  it  will  only  be  necessary  for  me 
occasionally  to  take  the  other  classes,  and  this  I  can  easily  do, 
by  giving  my  class  some  useful  occupation  at  their  seats,  while 
I  take  the  fifth  or  any  lower  class.  Every  book  should  be 
read  through  in  course,  that  every  one  may  know  the  place ; 


THE    USE    OF    MONITORS.  215 

but,  on  stormy  days,  when  many  are  absent,  the  monitor  may 
allow  the  class  to  choose  pieces,  as  a  sort  of  reward  for  punc- 
tual attendance.  I  always  made  it  a  point  to  allow  some 
privilege  on  such  days,  and  not  unfrequently  allowed  any  two 
or  three  to  select  dialogues,  and  read  them  before  the  whole 
school.  Indeed,  I  would  often  take  part  in  a  dialogue  myself, 
and  then  the  pupils  were  sure  to  be  more  attentive  to  do  their 
best.  The  whole  school  would  catch  the  spirit,  and,  when 
alone,  would  practise,  and  improve  themselves. 

Such  was  the  arrangement  in  the  school  I  taught  so  many 
years.  All  but  the  highest  class  were  all  engaged  in  the  same 
branch  at  the  same  time,  and  such  an  arrangement  seems  to 
meet  the  idea  of  the  writer  of  the  letter;  but  it  would  be  so 
completely  monitorial,  that  the  teacher  might  be  forbidden  to 
employ  it,  by  parents  who  would  not  believe,  until  they  had 
seen,  as  I  have,  that  little  children  so  taught  by  monitors  will 
learn  faster  than  when  taught  exclusively  by  the  master,  —  the 
great  amount  of  practice  more  than  making  up  for  the  differ- 
ence of  quality.  It  will  be  necessary,  therefore,  to  modify  the 
system ;  and  it  may  be  done  in  this  manner. 

I  may  hear  the  first  class  read,  and  let  the  rest  be  employed 
in  drawing  the  map  of  the  geography  lesson  ;  or  in  writing  the 
spelling  lesson  ;  or  in  any  thing  that  is  better  than  committing 
books  to  memory.  But,  as  soon  as  any  one  gives  a  sign  that 
his  lesson  is  learned,  let  him  be  sent  out  to  read,  or  cipher,  or 
write,  or  draw ;  or,  if  he  is  fit  to  teach,  let  him  keep  others  out 
of  idleness  by  teaching  them.  As  soon  as  the  highest  class 
have  read,  let  the  seeond  come  up  to  the  teacher,  and  so  on, 
till  all  have  read  to  him.  If  my  books  are  used,  there  will  be 
nothing  to  commit  to  memory,  and  the  books  contain  direc- 
tions for  their  use,  so  that  the  teacher  will  seldom  be  troubled 
by  questions  as  to  how  the  monitors  or  children  must  proceed. 

The  teacher  must  recollect  that,  to  keep  the  pupils  who  are 
not  reciting  to  him  employed,  he  has  the  writing  of  copies  on 
the  black-board  over  his  desk ;  the  writing  of  spelling  lessons 
from  dictation  on  the  ruled  slates ;  the  drawing  of  maps  relat- 
ing to  the  lesson  in  geography  on  slate,  black-board  or  paper ; 
ciphering  on  the  slate  or  on  the  black-board,  with  or  without 
speaking ;  orthographical  exercises  from  the  Companion,  a 
never-failing  source  of  employment ;  the  writing  of  sentences 
from  dictation,  or  set  grammatical  exercises ;  and,  if  he  has 
one  or  two  good  monitors  to  inspect  or  direct,  while  he  is  busy 
with  a  class,  there  will  be  no  noise  or  trouble,  at  least,  not  half 
so  much  as  if  the  children  are  left  idle. 


216 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITTTTE. 


But  I  have  only  examined  the  children  in  one  branch ;  it 
must  be  done  in  all  the  other  branches,  for  a  thorough  exam- 
ination is  an  indispensable  step  at  the  commencement  of  a 
school.  Select  50  words  or  more  from  the  spelling-book, 
and  let  each  child  spell  them  all  separately,  and  without  hear- 
ing each  other,  or  knowing  what  the  words  are.  As  it  will 
take  too  long  for  the  teacher  to  hear  all,  he  must  hear  a  few 
of  the  best  first,  and  let  these  copy  the  words,  and  help  him 
hear  the  others.  After  he  has  shown  them  how  to  pronounce, 
they  will  put  out  the  words  as  fairly  as  he  does.  As  fast  as 
one  has  spelled,  let  the  number  he  has  missed  be  put  against 
his  name.  Try  even  the  smallest,  for  those  who  miss  every 
word  should  be  classed  together.  The  eight,  or  ten,  or  twenty, 
who  spell  next  best,  may  go  together  in  a  class,  according  to 
the  number  of  classes  needed.  It  is  unimportant  whether  the 
same  readers  are  in  the  same  spelling  class  or  not. 

In  Arithmetic,  let  all  stand  up  and  first  write  the  figures. 
Those  who  can  not  do  this,  form  the  lowest  class.  Give  a 
short  single  column  in  addition  to  those  who  can  make  figures, 
and  if  any  can  not  add  this,  let  them  form  a  second  class. 
Try  the  rest  in  a  long  column,  or  in  numeration,  and  as  soon 
as  any  fail,  stop  them  for  another  class.  Go  on  with  subtrac- 
tion, multiplication,  simple  and  then  long;  division,  simple  and 
long,  and  so  on,  until  you  find  the  limit  of  every  scholar's 
knowledge,  and  have  classed  him  accordingly,  recording  his 
doings  on  the  list,  writing  the  name  of  the  rule  over  the  col- 
umn, and  making  -(-  if  he  understood  it,  and  —  if  he  did  not. 
Let  the  following  represent  the  list  after  the  trial. 


L.  Mult. 


S.  Div. 
+ 

+ 


i 

§ 


L.  Div. 


-i- 

+  + 
+ 


it* 


THE   USE   OF   MONITORS.  217 

The  result  will  be  that 

B,  E,  I,  form  the  1st  class,  and  make  figures. 

A,  D,  H,  J,  O,  R,  form  the  2d,  or  subtraction  class. 

C,  F,  K,  M,  Q,  S,  the  3d,  or  simple  division  class. 
L,  N,  P,  T,  the  4th,  or  long  division  class. 

G,  U,  V,  must  be  tried  in  more  advanced  rules. 

This  list  should  be  preserved,  not  only  to  show  what  the 
children  knew  at  the  beginning,  but  what  progress  they  made 
during  the  term.  I  think  this  method  better  than  written 
questions  in  the  elementary  rules.  Three  sums  should  be 
given  in  each  rule,  and  if  two  are  done  correctly,  the  child 
may  be  passed  to  the  next  rule,  but  not  otherwise.  In  my 
school,  at  the  beginning  of  every  term,  every  pupil,  whatever 
had  been  her  standing  in  arithmetic,  was  examined  in  this 
way;  for  the  practice  was  useful,  and  it  was  important  that  I 
should  know  their  comparative  skill. 

In  Mental  Arithmetic,  I  took  a  similar  list  of  names,  put  out 
six  fair  questions  in  every  Part  of  the  Child's  Arithmetic,  and 
recorded  the  answers  as  before.  These  answers  were  given 
in  the  quiet  method  before  described,  only,  instead  of  num- 
bering in  order,  as  fast  as  correct  answers  were  given,  those 
right  were  all  marked  -J-,  and  those  wrong,  — .  If  any  chil- 
dren answered  readily  in  the  Child's  Arithmetic,  I  gave  them 
three  fair  questions  in  every  section  of  Colburn's  First  Les- 
sons, which  I  have  reason  to  believe  is  still  first  in  more 
senses  than  one.  In  this  way,  I  easily  ascertained  which 
pupils  could  work  together,  and  which  I  could  use  upon  occa- 
sion for  monitors. 

In  Geography,  if  you  use  the  Common  School  Geography, 
select  five  questions  on  each  map,  and  write  them  on  a  black- 
board, requiring  each  pupil  to  write  answers  on  paper  while 
you  are  looking  at  them.  Number  your  questions  on  the 
board,  that  they  may  save  time  by  placing  the  number  only 
before  their  answers.  If  a  scholar,  who  has  advanced  far, 
misses  in  the  beginning  of  a  book,  it  may  not  always  be  pru- 
dent or  necessary  to  send  him  back  to  a  lower  class,  but  he 
should  be  required  to  review  that  map  in  extra  lessons,  under 
a  faithful  monitor,  if  the  teacher  has  not  time  to  attend  to  him. 
Make  a  record  of  the  answers  of  each  pupil,  as  before. 

In  Grammar,  select  fifteen  or  twenty  questions,  write  them 
on  the  black-board,  and  require  written  answers.  Record  these 
answers. 

Then  count  the  errors  made  by  the  pupils  in  writing  their 
19 


218  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

answers,  and  record  these  under  the  heads  of  Grammar, 
Spelling,  Punctuation  and  Capitals. 

Select  ten  or  twenty  words  to  be  parsed,  and  require  each, 
unheard  by  the  rest,  to  parse  every  one.  If  this  takes  too 
much  time,  you  can  teach  the  best  who  have  parsed  how  to 
help  you  hear  the  rest. 

If  you  have  The  Companion  to  Spelling-Books,  select  a 
good  lesson  or  two,  and  let  every  scholar  write  it  from  your 
copy  on  the  black-board,  if  they  have  not  the  book ;  or  from 
dictation,  which  is  better,  because  then  they  must  attend  to 
the  orthography  of  every  word. 

Finally,  give  them  a  subject,  and  require  all  who  can  to 
write  upon  it  what  they  can  in  15  minutes  or  half  an  hour. 
This  trial,  more  than  any  other,  showed  how  unused  many  of 
the  young  teachers  at  the  Institutes  were  to  expressing  their 
thoughts  on  paper.  In  such  cases,  the  record  may  be  made  by 
figures  1,  2,  3,  &c.,  the  highest  numbers  denoting  the  best 
exercises. 

When  his  scholars  are  thus  classed  in  every  branch,  and  ho 
knows  which  his  best  pupils  are,  the  good  teacher  can  always 
find  employment  for  all ;  and,  whether  it  is  his  general  rule 
or  not,  he  can  occasionally  set  all  at  work  on  one  branch  at 
the  same  time.  For  instance,  to  give  variety  to  the  exercises, 
he  could  order  the  five  classes  described  on  page  217,  to  form 
around  the  black-boards,  or  to  take  their  slates,  if  black-boards 
unfortunately  are  scarce.  Let  him  go  to  the  first  class,  and 
make  the  nine  figures  and  zero,  requiring  each  pupil  to  do  the 
same  before  he  comes  to  them  again.  Let  him  then  proceed 
to  the  2d  class,  and  set  them  a  sum  in  Subtraction,  to  be 
done  before  he  returns ;  and  to  secure  order  and  attention,  let 
him  place  G,  of  the  5th  class,  over  them  as  monitor.  Then, 
going  to  the  3d  class,  let  him  give  them  a  sum  in  Simple 
Division,  and  set  U  over  them  as  monitor.  Next,  let  him 
give  a  sum  in  Long  Division  to  the  4th  class,  and  set  V  over 
them  as  monitor.  By  this  time  the  first  class  will  have  writ- 
ten their  figures,  and  he  must  examine  them,  and  order  a 
new  copy.  Then,  proceeding  to  class  2,  he  examines  their 
work,  hears  the  remarks  of  the  monitor,  if  he  has  any  to 
make,  sets  a  new  sum  in  Subtraction,  and  goes  to  class  3.  He 
does  the  same  by  3  and  4,  and  keeps  going  the  rounds  as  long 
as  he  thinks  proper.  An  immense  deal  of  work  may  be  done 
in  this  way,  especially  if  the  monitor  is  active,  and  sets  a  new 
sum  for  the  class,  if  the  master  does  not  come  in  time  to  do  it. 


THE    USE    OF    MONITORS.  219 

Of  course,  there  will  be  some  friction  when  the  wheels  first 
move,  but  every  day  it  will  be  diminished,  and  the  activity  of 
teacher  and  pupils  will  make  the  hours  pass  pleasantly,  use- 
fully, imperceptibly. 

How  different  this  from  my  experience  at  school.  The 
rule  then  was,  that  any  boy  who  came  to  school  early  enough 
to  make  the  fires,  or  who  staid  after  school  long  enough  to 
sweep  the  school-room,  should  be  allowed  to  go  home  fifteen 
minutes  before  the  rest.  So  irksome  were  school  hours, 
that  we  used  to  contend  for  the  privilege  of  working  an  hour, 
to  have  fifteen  minutes  cut  off  from  the  last  hour  of  school- 
time.  When  I  was  a  teacher,  I  was  obliged  to  impose  a 
heavy  penalty  against  tarrying  after  school ;  for  the  tendency 
to  unpunctuality  was  at  the  end,  and  not,  as  usual,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  school ;  ingoing  home,  and  not  in  com- 
ing to  school. 

I  hope  I  have  made  it  sufficiently  clear  that  it  is  not  my 
wish  to  spare  the  master.  He  must  work  as  hard  as  the 
hardest ;  but,  in  addition  to  this,  he  can  be  sure  that  the  chil- 
dren are  all  employed  when  not  reciting  to  him.  By  the  aid 
of  monitors,  he  can  give  the  pupils  ten  times  the  practice  they 
can  ever  get  otherwise,  and  give  them  as  much  personal 
attention  as  he  would  have  done  on  the  old  system. 

For  the  encouragement  of  those  teachers  who  feel  the 
insufficiency  of  the  prevalent  system,  and  yet  are  afraid  to 
try  the  gradual  use  of  monitors,  I  will  add  that,  during  the 
past  year,  and  especially  during  the  past  winter,  more  than  a 
hundred  teachers,  male  and  female,  who  had  the  care  of  large 
schools,  have  used  monitors,  with  all  the  good  results  that  I 
have  promised.  I  have  many  letters  and  other  communica- 
tions from  them;  and  even  since  I  copied  the  letter  from 
Barnstable  county,  on  page  213,  I  have  received  another  from 
the  same  teacher,  which  says,  "  I  received  your  letter  of 
November  11,  and  am  much  obliged  to  you.  It  is  just  what 
I  needed.  Perhaps  I  owe  an  apology  for  writing  to  you,  but, 
in  the  prospect  of  having  a  large  school,  one  that  has  been 
noted  for  insubordination,  having  been  repeatedly  broken  up 
heretofore,  and  in  which  a  female  teacher  has  never  before 
been  employed  during  the  winter  term,  you  will  excuse  me, 
sir,  for  wishing  to  avail  myself  of  all  the  assistance  I  can 
obtain.  It  is  now  three  weeks  since  I  entered  upon  my  du- 
ties, and  my  success  has  been  beyond  my  expectation  thus  far." 

A  pleasing  incident  occurred  at  the  Bridgewater  Institute, 


220  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

in  November,  1845.  After  I  had  delivered  the  preceding  lec- 
ture on  the  Monitorial  System,  many  of  the  young1  teachers 
asked  why  I  could  not  show  them  a  specimen  of  a  school  on 
that  system.  The  superintendent,  who  was  the  principal  of 
the  Normal  School,  seconded  the  application ;  and  although 
entirely  unprepared  for  such  an  experiment,  in  about  five 
minutes,  I  turned  the  whole  Institute,  consisting  of  more 
than  a  hundred  teachers,  half  of  them  normalites,  into  a 
Monitorial  School,  and  set  the  whole  at  work,  in  about  12 
or  15  classes,  under  monitors.  We  first  tried  arithmetic,  and 
then  spelling,  orally,  and  by  writing ;  and  the  perfect  readi- 
ness of  the  teachers  to  submit  to  whatever  arrangements  I 
proposed,  showed  that  they  possessed  one  great  accomplish- 
ment of  a  true  teacher,  the  docility  of  pupils.  Since  that,  I 
have  been  told  by  the  able  Assistant  of  the  principal,  who  was 
also  present  at  the  experiment,  they  have  regularly  employed 
some  of  the  pupils  in  the  Normal  School,  as  monitors,  and 
have  found  great  benefit  from  it.  I  know  that  many  members 
of  the  Institute  went  forth,  and,  from  that  moment,  used  the 
system  to  good  advantage. 

At  Harwich,  in  November,  1846,  a  County  Convention  of 
teachers  and  friends  of  education  met  during  the  session  of 
the  Institute,  and  while  it  was  under  my  care.  The  Con- 
vention repeatedly  honored  the  Institute  by  attending  its 
meetings,  and  patiently  witnessing  its  exercises  for  nearly  two 
whole  days  and  evenings.  I  delivered  no  lecture  on  the  sys- 
tem under  consideration,  and  only  incidentally  showed,  after 
a  lesson  or  two  in  the  common  method,  how  the  power  and 
usefulness  of  the  teacher  could  be  increased,  by  the  occasional 
use  of  monitors.  To  my  surprise,  before  the  Convention  ad- 
journed, they  unanimously  passed  a  resolve  recommending  to 
the  teachers  of  the  county  the  use  of  monitors.  Among 
the  members  present,  were  two  members  of  the  Board  of 
Education — several  clergymen,  distinguished  for  their  tal- 
ents and  exertions  in  favor  of  general  education,  three  of 
whom  gave  most  excellent  lectures  on  important  points  of 
instruction  —  several  principals  of  flourishing  academies  — 
and  several  intelligent  physicians.  I  know  not  who  offered 
the  vote,  for  I  was  not  aware  of  the  intention ;  it  was  a  free- 
will offering  to  truth,  and  intended,  no  doubt,  to  encourage  me 
in  my  honest  endeavors  to  improve  the  common  schools. 
Every  one  of  nine  other  Institutes  that  I  attended  and 


THE   USE    OF   MONITORS.  221 

taught,  passed  unanimous  votes  of  thanks,  without  the  least 
reservation  in  regard  to  monitorial  instruction. 

There  is  no  lack  of  authority,  therefore,  nor  of  encourage- 
ment, for  the  use  of  assistants  selected  from  the  pupils ;  and, 
if  the  teacher  is  judicious  in  the  selection  and  management  of 
his  assistants,  there  is  no  reason  to  fear  that  the  committee  or 
the  parents  will  interpose  any  obstacle.  One  thing  is  certain; 
there  must  either  be  more  adult  teachers  in  our  schools,  or  the 
pupils  must  be  employed  as  I  propose.  Every  new  principle 
and  every  new  rule  should  be  explained  by  the  teacher,  but 
after  this  is  done  to  one  class,  and  the  teacher  is  called  to 
another,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  former  class  from 
practising,  under  one  or  more  monitors,  upon  the  principle  just 
explained.  This  want  of  practice  in  every  department  of  a 
common  school  education  was,  perhaps,  the  most  striking 
deficiency  of  the  teachers  at  the  several  Institutes ;  and  several 
of  the  best  of  those  teachers  have  thanked  me  for  the  hint 
which  has  enabled  them  not  only  to  double  the  amount  of 
labor  actually  done  by  their  pupils,  but  also  to  double  the 
amount  done  under  the  teacher  himself,  because  of  the  greater 
celerity  with  which  many  operations  are  performed,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  practice  acquired  under  monitors. 

The  limits  of  my  book  will  not  allow  me  to  go  further  into 
the  subject,  and  I  must  leave  it  to  the  good  sense  of  teachers 
and  school-committees,  advising  the  latter  to  dismiss  a  teacher 
the  moment  he  relaxes  his  own  exertions,  and  throws  upon 
his  monitors  any  duty  that  he  can  perform  himself. 


222 


NEATNESS. 

I  SHOULD  not  feel  that  I  had  done  justice  to  the  cause,  if  I 
omitted  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  subject  of  neatness.  Per- 
haps in  no  one  particular  can  a  teacher  be  more  useful  to  his 
pupils,  than  by  inculcating  a  habit  of  neatness ;  and  in  no 
one  thing,  perhaps,  will  the  importance  of  his  own  example 
be  so  distinctly  felt.  The  superiority  of  female  teachers  in 
this  respect  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  strongest  reasons  for  the 
growing  preference  which  is  given  to  them.  At  every  Insti- 
tute, I  saw  young  gentlemen,  who,  in  manners  and  personal 
appearance,  were  all  that  could  be  wished ;  but  I  saw,  also, 
many  who,  in  these  respects,  were  far  better  fitted  to  be  warn- 
ings, than  models  for  the  imitation  of  youth. 

If  any  one  will  think  for  a  moment  with  what  awe  he 
looked  up  to  the  example  of  his  teacher,  he  will  have  some 
idea  of  the  influence  which  he  may  exert  over  his  youthful 
charge.  I  do  not  wish  the  young  teacher  to  expend  all  he 
earns  in  dress,  for  no  one  who  knows  me  will  suspect  me  of 
estimating  men  by  the  skill  of  their  tailors ;  but  I  do  wish 
to  see  every  teacher  careful  in  regard  to  his  external  appear- 
ance. 

His  clothes  may  always  be  neat  and  whole,  however  coarse. 
His  boots  may  always  be  cleaned.  His  beard  may  be  always 
kept  invisible.  His  hair  may  always  be  neatly  combed,  his 
teeth  always  perfectly  white,  his  finger-nails  cut,  his  hat  and 
clothes  brushed,  and  his  hands,  eyes,  nose  and  ears,  always 
perfectly  clean.  Frequent  ablutions  of  his  whole  person,  as 
well  as  of  his  face  and  hands,  are  indispensable.  He  must 
have  a  care  to  his  breath,  that  it  be  not  offensive  to  those 
whom  he  is  obliged  to  face  so  often.  He  must  never  be  seen 
to  spit,  if  he  can  possibly  help  it,  and  at  any  rate  he  must 
never  spit  upon  the  floor,  or  any  where  else  where  any  eye 
can  be  offended.  Above  all,  he  must  never  be  guilty  of  the 
abominable  practice  of  blowing  his  nose  with  his  fingers,  even 
if  he  wipes  them,  and  it,  afterwards,  on  a  handkerchief.  How 
many  who  pretend  to  be  gentlemen  indulge  in  this  beastly 
habit,  even  in  the  presence  of  ladies !  I  do  not  hesitate  to 


NEATNESS.  223 

say,  that,  if  I  were  on  a  school-committee,  no  man  who  used 
tobacco  in  any  form,  who  spit  on  the  floor,  or  was  guilty  of 
that  other  enormity,  which  I  dare  not  name  again,  should  ever 
have  my  vote,  if  he  applied  for  a  school,  and  would  teach  for 
nothing. 

The  teacher's  desk,  too,  should  always  be  in  order,  his 
books  arranged,  his  papers  filed,  and  just  what  he  requires  of 
his  pupils.  In  his  positions,  whether  sitting  or  standing,  he 
should  be  decent,  if  he  can  not  always  be  graceful.  I  have 
seen  a  fat  teacher  leaning  backward  on  the  hinder  legs  of  his 
chair,  with  his  feet  not  only  up  as  high  as  his  head,  but  up 
against  the  front  of  a  form  occupied  by  female  pupils.  I 
speak  plainly,  because  I  wish  by  plainness  of  speech  more 
distinctly  to  show  the  offences  that  I  would  prevent. 

In  purity  of  language,  also,  the  teacher  must  be  free  from 
every  taint.  Not  only  no  indelicate  word  or  allusion  must 
ever  escape  from  his  lips,  but  he  must  avoid  every  expression 
that  approaches  to  vulgarity.  He  should  freely  converse  with 
his  pupils,  and  the  more  he  does  so  the  better,  if  his  words 
are  fitly  spoken ;  but  nothing  will  so  completely  destroy  his 
influence  as  an  oath,  or  an  indecent  word.  If  any  man  is 
bound  to  set  a  double  watch  over  his  mouth,  it  is  the  teacher, 
and  he  can  not  too  resolutely  say, 

"  I  will  take  heed  to  my  ways,  that  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue  ; 
I  will  keep  my  mouth  with  a  bridle,  while  the"  innocent  "  are  be- 
fore me." 

If  the  teacher  is  thus  mindful  of  himself,  he  may  with  pro- 
priety require  his  pupils  to  be  neat  and  orderly,  to  at  least  the 
same  degree. 

Every  schoolhouse  should  be  furnished  with  a  wash-stand, 
basin,  towel,  and  plenty  of  soap  and  water ;  and  the  teacher 
should  see  that  every  child's  hands  and  face  are  clean.  I 
know  it  will  be  said  that  children  will  slop  the  water,  and 
waste  the  soap,  and  dirt  the  towels ;  but  I  know,  by  expe- 
rience, that  if  the  teacher  looks  after  these  things,  the  children 
will  soon  use  them  well,  nay,  will  seldom  need  to  use  them  at 
all.  When  I  saw  how  many  of  the  children  of  my  first  school 
were  neglected  at  home,  I  procured  a  tin  basin  and  dipper, 
and  a  few  coarse  towels,  for  the  boys  and  for  the  girls,  and  I 
placed  at  the  doors  a  large  boy  and  a  large  girl,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  see  that  all  faces  and  hands  were  clean,  before  the 
pupils  came  into  the  school-room.  The  inspector's  office  was 
no  sinecure  for  two  or  three  weeks ;  but,  after  that,  we  had 


224  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

no  trouble.  Near  the  wash-stand  was  a  comb  also,  and  all 
unkempt  heads  were  introduced  to  this  by  the  monitors  of 
neatness,  as  the  inspectors  were  called ;  and,  as  they  some- 
times plied  the  comb  for  the  pupils,  when  it  required  unusual 
vigor  to  clear  a  snarl,  it  was  not  long  before  the  children 
found  it  for  their  comfort  to  use  a  comb  before  coming  to 
school.  While  on  this  subject,  it  may  be  well  to  mention, 
that  the  reason  why  very  neat  parents  send  their  children  to 
select  or  private  schools,  is  more  frequently  the  fear  of  con- 
tact with  uncared-for  children,  than  from  any  aristocratic  feel- 
ing. The  teacher  must  not  shrink  from  recommending  the 
fine-tooth  comb  occasionally,  if  he  wishes  to  keep  children 
of  neat  mothers  in  his  school ;  and  until  these  children  can 
be  brought  into  our  public  schools,  and  educated  there,  these 
schools  will  only  do  half  the  good  of  which  they  are  capable. 

Another  point  to  which  the  attention  of  the  teacher  must  be 
turned,  is  the  clothing  of  the  pupils.  This  should  be  tidy  and 
clean  ;  and  the  teacher  can  make  it  so,  by  occasional  remarks 
which  will  not  offend,  and  which  need  not  even  be  personal. 
Sixty  or  eighty  of  the  pupils  of  my  first  school  were  children 
of  Irish  immigrants,  neglected  in  almost  every  respect,  and 
probably  harder  subjects  than  usually  enter  our  district 
schools ;  but  even  these  were  civilized  in  a  few  weeks,  and, 
let  me  add,  that  my  monitors  did  more  to  effect  the  reform 
than  I  did.  If  a  boy  was  accustomed  to  come  with  hair 
uncombed,  or  with  ragged  trousers,  the  monitor  would  say 
kindly,  "  Johnny,  can't  you  ask  mammy  to  sleek  your  hair 
before  you  leave  home  ?  Can't  you  ask  her  to  patch  your 
knee,  when  she  finds  time?"  &c.  I  never  knew  any  one  to 
take  offence,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  hint  was  almost  sure  to 
be  effectual. 

But  teachers  are  not  sufficiently  careful  in  regard  to  the 
hats,  bonnets,  and  outer  garments  that  are  taken  off  on  enter- 
ing school.  A  place  must  be  provided  for  these,  and  every 
child  should  know  his  place.  There  is  a  kind  of  double  iron 
hook,  having  a  knob  on  which  to  hang  a  cloak,  and  another 
knob  above  for  the  hat  or  bonnet.  These  hooks  do  not  cost 
much,  and  every  child  should  have  one.  My  custom  was  to 
number  both  the  children  and  the  hooks ;  and  the  monitors  of 
neatness  saw  that  every  garment  was  put  upon  the  right  hook 
before  the  child  was  allowed  to  take  his  seat.  Most  schools 
Lave  a  few  hooks  or  nails,  but  frequently  I  have  seen  half  the 
garments  thrown  into  a  corner  on  the  floor;  and,  what  is 


NEATNESS.  225 

worse,  I  have  seen  them  trampled  upon  in  the  passage-ways. 
Neat  parents  will  not  put  up  with  such  conduct,  and  they 
either  dress  their  children  in  clothes  that  can  not  be  injured, 
or  withdraw  them  from  the  school.  I  made  it  an  offence  for 
a  child  to  pass  a  garment  that  had  fallen  down,  and  treading 
on  one  was  accounted  a  serious  misdemeanor.  The  monitors 
of  neatness  having  a  list  of  names  and  numbers,  and  know- 
ing most  of  the  garments,  prevented  any  injury  to  them,  by  a 
strict  supervision. 

There  is  not  room  in  some  schoolhouses  for  any'arrange- 
ment  of  this  sort,  but  I  believe  the  teacher  can  often  get 
abundance  of  room,  if  he  will  only  show  how  much  it  is 
needed.  The  mischief  is,  that  teachers  pay  too  little  atten- 
tion to  the  virtue  under  consideration ;  and  the  committees, 
of  course,  seldom  are  sensible  of  the  evil  habits  that  are 
generated  by  his  inattention.  After  I  purchased  towels  for 
my  poor  scholars,  the  pupils  would  take  them  home  when 
necessary,  and  wash  them.  Every  little  while  the  tin  basin 
would  be  made  to  shine.  A  mat  should  be  placed  at  every 
door,  not  only  to  keep  the  dirt  out  of  the  school-room,  but  to 
teach  the  children  a  habit  of  cleaning  their  feet  before  enter- 
ing a  house.  No  school-door  should  lack  a  scraper,  also.  I 
believe  that  any  teacher  who  should  make  a  schedule  of  such 
articles,  and  ask  the  children  to  get  up  what  is  called  a  Bee, 
at  the  schoolhouse,  would  generally  get  all  he  wished.  At 
any  rate,  he  should  make  some  effort  to  save  himself  from  the 
responsibility  of  helping  to  rear  a  generation  of  slovens  and 
slatterns,  cursed  with  chronic  hydrophobia,  and  its  kindred 
vices. 

Every  teacher  should  make  it  against  the  rules  of  the 
school  to  throw  any  thing  on  the  floor,  or  to  spit  upon  it. 
Every  thing,  whether  nutshells,  paper,  leaves  of  flowers,  or 
any  thing  similar,  found  upon  the  floor,  should  be  picked  up 
by  the  offender ;  and,  if  he  can  not  be  found,  by  the  nearest 
neighbor.  Monitors  of  neatness  were  allowed  to  look  into 
the  desks  to  see  that  all  was  in  order  there,  but  no  other  pupil 
could  take  this  liberty  without  permission  of  the  owner. 

Every  exercise  that  the  pupils  wrote  was  obliged  to  be 
filed  and  endorsed  neatly,  and  for  this  they  were  as  much  re- 
warded as  for  writing  the  exercise  at  first.  That  the  files 
might  appear  very  neat,  the  pupils  were  instructed  to  do  their 
maps,  or  other  work,  on  paper  of  uniform  size,  and  then  to 
fold  them  exactly  alike,  write  upon  the  end  of  each,  in  a  uni- 


226  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

form  manner,  what  it  was,  and  then  tie  the  bundles  with  a 
neat  string, — a  piece  of  red  tape  usually.  The  effect  of  these 
little  things  upon  the  general  character  of  the  children  was 
excellent,  and  their  utility  can  not  be  overrated. 

Most  teachers  are  afraid  to  speak  to  their  pupils  about 
many  things  which  really  need  correction.  Once  in  a  while, 
I  made  general  remarks  upon  such  subjects  as  the  biting  of 
finger-nails,  the  picking  of  the  nose,  scratching  of  the  head, 
&c.,  &c. ;  and  although  I  singled  out  no  one,  I  believe  that 
many  singled  out  themselves,  and  corrected  their  offensive 
habits.  No  one,  who  knows  me,  will  accuse  me  of  being  a 
precisian  in  tnese  matters  of  neatness,  and  yet  there  are  few 
things  at  which  I  have  been  so  often  offended  as  at  the  neg- 
lect of  neatness  that  so  extensively  prevails,  especially  in  old, 
ill-looking  school-rooms. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact,  that  the  better  a  school- 
room is,  the  better  it  is  treated  by  the  children ;  and  the 
larger  it  is,  the  more  easily  it  is  kept  in  order,  and  the  more 
easily  the  children  are  governed.  Much  allowance  must  be 
made  for  teachers  who  are  condemned  to  teach  in  small,  ill- 
furnished  rooms,  and  no  teacher,  who  values  his  reputation 
and  his  health,  should  ever  put  them  in  such  peril.  I  know 
of  few  things  more  offensive  than  the  atmosphere  of  some 
small  district  schools  that  I  have  visited.  It  requires  some 
courage  in  a  committee-man  to  enter  such  a  room,  and  some 
minutes  to  get  reconciled  to  breathing  such  impurities ;  and 
yet  hundreds  go  through  this  disagreeable  transition,  and  de- 
part wondering  how  any  body  can  live  in  such  a  medium. 
The  ventilation  of  school-rooms  will  not  be  attended  to,  till 
committees  and  teachers  are  made  to  realize,  that  to  breathe 
impure  air  is  not  less  injurious  than  to  drink  dirty  water,  and 
ought  not  to  be  considered  less  loathsome ;  the  lungs,  which 
drink  the  air,  being  more  delicate  than  the  stomach,  and  inac- 
cessible to  medicine. 


227 


THE  OPENING  AND  CLOSING  OF  SCHOOL. 

WHILE  at  the  Institutes,  I  was  frequently  questioned  as  to 
the  best  method  of  opening  and  closing  a  school.  The  daily 
opening  is  here  intended,  and  not  the  commencement  of  the 
term,  which  should  begin  with  a  thorough  classification  and 
record  of  the  children  in  every  branch,  whether  the  branches 
are  kept  separate  or  not.  Of  this  classification  I  have  spoken 
under  the  head  of  Monitorial  Instruction,  and  it  only  remains 
to  show  how  I  should  open  the  school  from  day  to  day.  I 
have  already  alluded  to  the  simultaneous  reading  of  the 
Scriptures,  an  exercise  into  which  I  was  led  after  various  ex- 
periments. I  have  said  that  I  preferred  a  selection  of  passages 
to  the  reading  of  the  Bible  in  course,  not  because  one  portion 
of  Scripture  is  of  higher  authority,  or  more  obligatory  upon 
us,  than  another,  but  because  some  portions  are  better  under- 
stood by  children,  and  are  more  interesting  to  them.  The 
Board  of  Education  have  uniformly  recommended  the  use  of 
the  whole  Bible ;  but  when  the  whole  Bible  is  used,  selections 
only  are  read,  and  surely  a  selection  made  with  care  and  judg- 
ment is  preferable  to  one  made  in  haste.  I  prefer  reading  in 
concert,  for  reasons  given  under  the  head  of  Reading ;  and  I 
am  glad  to  learn  that  many  teachers,  who  practised  with  me  at 
the  Institutes,  have  adopted  my  plan,  with  profit  to  themselves 
and  to  their  pupils. 

Before  reading  a  portion  of  Scripture,  which  exercise 
should  not  average  more  than  five  minutes,  it  is  desirable  to 
have  a  hymn  sung  by  the  children.  I  am  no  singer,  but  I 
never  found  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  choir  for  this  exer- 
cise. The  pupils  of  my  second  school  were  instructed  by  a 
professional  singer,  and,  knowing  which  could  lead,  I  had 
only  to  propose  the  hymn,  and  they  would  take  care  of  the 
rest.  As  it  was  desirable  that  all  should  sing,  I  confined  the 
tunes  to  a  small  number,  and  rarely  sung  new  tunes  until  old 
ones  were  familiar  to  all.  Every  school  has  some  child  in  it 
that  can  lead  in  this  exercise,  and  in  every  district  the 
teacher  can  find  some  person  who  would  occasionally  teach 
the  children  a  new  tune.  No  one  needs  to  despair  of  doing 
this  himself,  if  he  is  earnest  in  his  desire  to  learn. 


228  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Besides  a  hymn,  and  the  reading  of  Scripture,  some  com- 
mittees require  that  prayer  should  be  offered.  This  exercise 
is  more  difficult  than  the  others,  and  it  is  rarely  performed  so 
as  to  engage  the  attention  of  children.  I  am  satisfied  that, 
unless  the  teacher  is  a  prayerful  man,  accustomed  to  commune 
with  his  Maker,  and  able,  moreover,  to  express  his  thoughts 
with  simplicity,  and  to  condense  all  he  should  say  into  a  few 
words,  he  had  better  not  attempt  to  pray  in  school.  Children 
dislike  long  prayers ;  they  disregard  cold  ones,  and  they  are 
not  benefited  by  those  they  do  not  understand.  The  method 
which  appeared  to  me  best  to  command  attention,  was  that  of 
requiring  the  whole  school  to  repeat  my  words.  Sometimes 
I  wrote  a  form  for  every  day  in  the  week,  and  continued  the 
course  for  several  weeks.  Sometimes  I  tried  extempore 
prayer,  and  required  the  whole  to  join;  and  sometimes  I 
prayed  alone.  This  change  of  form  procured  attention,  and 
as  the  prayer  was  always  short,  not  exceeding  one  or  two 
minutes,  it  was  not  irksome,  to  say  the  least.  It  requires 
about  half  a  minute  to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer  distinctly,  and 
the  teacher  should  be  contented  with  four  times  that  space  at 
the  most.  He  should  confine  his  petition  to  such  matters  as 
concern  the  children,  and  relate  to  their  wants  at  the  moment. 
If  he  wanders  beyond  this  limit,  he  will  be  more  likely  to 
induce  the  children  to  hate  the  exercise  than  to  join  in  it. 

As  it  has  always  been  a  leading  object  with  the  Board  of 
Education  to  encourage  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  in  our 
common  schools,  to  inculcate  reverence  for  God  and  all  sacred 
things,  and  in  every  way  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the 
young  that  piety  towards  God  which  is  the  only  security  for 
their  fidelity  in  every  social  relation,  I  felt  it  my  duty,  at  the 
various  Institutes,  often  to  call  the  attention  of  teachers  to  the 
importance  of  religious  instruction,  and  to  urge  upon  them 
the  duty  and  necessity  of  personal  holiness,  that  they  may 
feel  the  responsibility  that  rests  upon  them,  and  be  enabled 
heartily  to  undertake  the  work  of  educating  the  affections  and 
the  consciences  of  their  pupils.  It  is  a  pity  that  school-commit- 
tees, in  their  examination  of  teachers,  pay  so  little  regard  to 
their  religious  character,  and  in  their  examination  of  schools, 
make  few  or  no  inquiries  after  the  moral  and  religious  progress 
of  the  pupils.  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  misunderstood  ;  I  do  not 
wish  the  committee  to  pry  into  the  peculiar  doctrinal  belief 
of  a  candidate,  but  I  do  think  they  should  be  certain  that  he 
is  a  man  fearing  God  and  loving  his  fellow-creatures,  and. 


OPENING   AND   CLOSING   01   SCHOOL.  229 

with  a  deep  sense  of  his  obligation  to  God  and  man,  endeav- 
oring to  make  every  child  under  his  care,  as  far  as  his  agency 
is  concerned,  a  child  of  heaven.  This  part  of  the  teacher's 
character  is  far  more  important  than  his  attainments  in  any 
science  ;  and  while  calling  the  attention  of  committees  to  this 
subject,  the  author  feels  bound  to  testify  to  the  fact,  that,  in 
all  his  intercourse  with  the  teachers  at  the  Institutes,  he  never 
saw  any  action,  or  heard  any  expression,  that  would  lead  him 
to  doubt  their  strong  sense  of  religious  obligation.  All  he 
would  urge,  then,  is  more  earnestness,  more  activity,  more 
interest  in  the  present  and  eternal  welfare  of  their  pupils. 

The  author  has  already  prepared  suitable  selections  from 
the  Scriptures,  which  teachers  can  use  as  he  has  printed  them, 
or  as  a  guide  in  making  their  selections,  if  the  whole  Bible  is 
preferred.  He  hopes  to  be  excused  if  he  also  gives  a  few 
forms  of  prayer,  and  a  few  hymns  suitable  to  be  used  at  the 
opening  of  school.  The  prayers  are  broken  into  lines  of  suit 
able  length  to  be  repeated  by  the  pupils,  if  that  method  is 
adopted ;  or  they  may  be  used  by  the  teacher  alone,  or  by  the 
pupils  and  teacher  at  the  same  time,  or  even  by  the  pupils 
alone,  under  a  monitor.  I  never  heard  more  solemn  prayers 
than  have  been  offered  in  this  latter  way. 

The  teacher,  in  this  exercise  of  prayer,  may  often  find  a 
good  opportunity  to  explain  its  nature  and  obligation ;  and,  if 
he  thinks  as  I  do,  he  will  see  that  it  is  always  performed  with 
solemnity  and  reverence.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  custom, 
which  was  unknown  to  our  fathers,  of  sitting  while  in  the  act 
of  addressing  the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  will  never  pre- 
vail in  our  schools.  The  most  reverent  position  should  be 
preferred,  and  if,  as  is  generally  the  case,  it  is  impossible  to 
kneel,  the  petitioners  should  stand.  Nothing  seems  to  me 
more  inconsistent,  also,  than  for  the  preacher  or  leader  in  the 
prayer  to  stand  while  the  audience  sit ;  and  nothing  seems  so 
distinctly  to  imply  that  the  audience  are  only  listeners  to  the 
performance  of  another.  We  should  not  dare  to  sit  while 
addressing  an  earthly  king,  and  how  shall  we  be  less  respect- 
ful to  the  great  King  of  kings  ? 

PRAYER    FOR    MONDAY   MORNING. 

We  thank  thee,  Lord  of  the  Sabbath, 
For  its  holy  rest,  and  heavenly  influence. 
We  thank  thee  for  preserving  us  from  harm, 
And  bringing  us  again  together  in  safety. 
20 


230  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

Bless  us  all  in  our  various  exercises ; 

May  the  spirit  of  wisdom  guide  our  teacher, 

And  may  we  be  obedient  to  his  commands. 

Forgive  the  sins  and  follies  of  our  youth, 

And  make  us  truly  penitent  for  them. 

Bless  our  parents  and  benefactors, 

And  teach  us  to  forgive  our  enemies. 

Guard  us  from  the  dangers  that  surround  us, 

And  keep  us  from  the  evil  that  is  in  the  world ; 

From  lying,  deceit  and  profaneness ; 

From  impure  words,  and  thoughts,  and  actions ; 

From  disregard  of  holy  things, 

And  from  forgetfulness  of  thee,  our  Maker.* 

And  the  praise  shall  be  thine  forever, 

Through  thy  beloved  Son,  our  Lord. 

Amen. 

If  it  be  thought  advisable  to  have  a  prayer  at  the  close  of 
school  in  the  afternoon,  let  the  Lord's  Prayer  be  repeated  by 
the  children  together,  standing,  and  then  let  them  sing  the 
closing  hymn.  I  have  broken  the  prayers  into  lines,  that  they 
may  be  repeated  in  unison.  A  pleasing  variation  may  be 
made  by  chanting  the  Lord's  Prayer,  as  directed  in  the  Amer- 
ican School  Song  Book,  page  157. 

Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven, 

Hallowed  be  thy  name. 

Thy  kingdom  come; 

Thy  will  be  done  on  earth, 

As  it  is  done  in  heaven. 

Give  us,  this  day,  our  daily  bread, 

And  forgive  us  our  trespasses, 

As  we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us. 

And  lead  us  not  into  temptation, 

But  deliver  us  from  evil  ; 

For  thine  is  the  kingdom, 

The  power,  and  the  glory, 

Forever, — Amen. 

TUESDAY. 

Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven, 

We  have  again  risen  together, 

To  thank  Thee  for  preserving  our  lives, 

And  giving  tis  strength  to  worship  Thee. 


OPENING  AND  CLOSING  OF   SCHOOL.  231 

We  humbly  ask  Thee  to  meet  with  us, 

And  to  fill  us  with  thy  Holy  Spirit, 

That  whatever  we  may  now  do 

May  be  done  in  thy  fear  and  love, 

And  be  followed  by  thy  blessing. 

Give  to  the  pupils,  attentive  minds, 

And  obedient  and  thankful  hearts. 

Give  to  the  teachers,  a  deep  sense 

Of  their  responsibility  to  Thee, 

And  crown  their  labors  with  success. 

Teach  us  all  the  value  of  time, 

The  certainty  of  death  and  judgment ; 

And  enable  us  so  to  live, 

That  we  may  not  fail  of  thy  grace 

Revealed  to  us  in  the  gospel  of  thy  Son. 

Amen. 

WEDNESDAY. 

Our  Maker  and  our  Preserver, 

We  thank  Thee  for  thy  protecting  care, 

And  for  all  the  blessings  we  enjoy. 

Give  us  hearts  sensible  to  thy  goodness, 

And  obedient  to  thy  commandments. 

Forgive  our  many  transgressions, 

And  teach  us  to  forgive  those  who  offend  us. 

Enable  us  to  learn  thy  holy  will, 

And  strengthen  all  our  good  resolutions. 

Help  us  to  remember  Thee  in  our  youth, 

Before  those  evil  days  draw  nigh, 

Which  have  no  pleasure  and  no  hope  in  them. 

Bless  our  parents  and  friends, 

And  save  them  and  us, 

Through  faith  in  thy  beloved  Son. 

Amen. 

THURSDAY. 

O  Thou,  who  seest  our  hearts, 

And  knowest  all  our  thoughts, 

We  beseech  Thee  to  be  with  us,  and  bless  us. 

Make  us  willing  to  receive  instruction, 

And  fearful  to  offend  against  our  God. 

May  what  we  shall  learn  here 

Help  us  onward,  by  thy  blessing, 


232  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITTTTE. 

Towards  that  world  of  peace  and  love, 
Where  we  shall  see  Thee  as  thou  art, 
And  no  longer  offend  Thee  as  we  do. 
God  of  mercy  !  forgive  our  sins ; 
God  of  love  !  keep  us  from  evil, 
Through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Saviour. 

Amen. 

FRIDAY. 

Our  heavenly  Father,  and  our  Friend, 

Now  that  we  have  risen  to  worship  Thee, 

May  we  feel  how  solemn  is  the  service, 

And  may  we  perform  it  with  reverence. 

Fill  our  hearts  with  that  fear  of  Thee 

Which  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom, 

That  we  may  early  learn  to  love  Thee, 

And  may  always  dread  thy  displeasure. 

Give  us  confidence  in  thy  providence, 

And  cheerful  submission  to  thy  will, 

That,  like  the  young  Redeemer, 

We  may  grow  in  wisdom  as  in  stature, 

And  in  favor  with  God  and  man. 

Bless  our  parents,  and  all  who  watch  over  us ; 

Bless  all  the  exercises  of  the  school ; 

May  we  not  offend  in  thought  or  word  or  action, 

And  thus  may  we  become  heirs  of  that  hope 

Which  came  by  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 

Amen. 

SATURDAY. 

0  thou  Giver  of  every  good  gift, 

We  pray  that  thy  most  Holy  Spirit 

May  fill  our  hearts,  and  form  our  lives. 

Grant  that  these,  our  imperfect  lessons, 

May  be  given  in  thy  fear,  and  in  thy  love, 

And  be  blessed  to  the  eternal  good 

Of  those  who  give  and  those  who  receive  them. 

Watch  over  us,  and  guard  us  from  danger, 

And  keep  us  away  from  temptation ; 

That,  whether  we  live  to  grow  up, 

Or  fall  like  the  early  flo*vvers, 

We  may  go  to  those  mansions  in  heaven 

Which  Jesus  has  gone  to  prepare 


OPENING   AND   CLOSING  OF   SCHOOL.  233 

For  those  who  truly  love  and  obey  him. 
And  thine  shall  be  the  glory,  forever. 

Amen. 


PRAYER  AFTER  THE  DEATH  OF  A  PUPIL  OR  FRIEND. 

Eternal  Father, 

Who  livest  forever,  though  thy  creatures  die, 

We  acknowledge  thy  providence, 

And  submit  without  a  murmur  to  thy  will. 

We  thank  Thee  that  we  have  been  spared, 

Whilst  others  have  gone  down  to  the  grave, 

And  we  implore  Thee  still  to  spare  us. 

May  the  death  we  mourn  make  us  thoughtful, 

And  may  we,  who  live,  lay  it  deeply  to  heart. 

May  the  uncertainty  of  our  lives 

Induce  us  to  be  dutiful  and  diligent, 

That  we  may  not  die  unprepared.    ^ 

And  when  we  have  lived  in  thy  fear) 

And  done  all  thy  will,  on  earth, 

May  we  be  accepted  by  Thee, 

Through  that  mercy  revealed  by  Him 

Who  died  that  we  sinners  might  live. 

And  to  Thee  we  will  ascribe  the  praise 

Forever. 

Amen. 
20* 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

HYMNS. 

MONDAY    MORNING. 
(Tune,  Brattle  Street,  or  Hymn  Second.) 

While  Thee  I  seek,  protecting  Power, 

Be  my  vain  wishes  stilled  ; 
And  may  this  consecrated  hour 

With  better  hopes  be  filled. 

Thy  love  the  power  of  thought  bestowed, 
To  Thee  my  thoughts  would  soar ; 

Thy  mercy  o'er  my  life  has  flowed, 
That  mercy  I  adore. 

In  each  event  of  life,  how  clear 

Thy  ruling  hand  I  see  ! 
Each  blessing  to  my  soul  more  dear, 

Because  conferred  by  Thee. 

In  every  joy  that  crowns  my  days, 

In  every  pain  I  bear, 
My  heart  shall  find  delight  in  praise, 

Or  seek  relief  in  prayer. 

EVENING. 

(Tune,  Hebron.) 

Thus  far  the  Lord  has  led  me  on, 

Thus  far  his  power  prolongs  my  days, 

And  every  evening  shall  make  known 
Some  fresh  memorial  of  his  grace. 

Much  of  my  time  has  run  to  waste, 
And  I  forget  my  Father's  home ; 

May  He  forgive  my  follies  past, 

And  lend  me  strength  for  days  to  come. 


TUESDAY   MORNING. 
(Tune,  Hamburg.) 

O  God,  I  thank  Thee  that  the  night 
In  peace  and  rest  hath  passed  away, 

And  that  I  see,  in  this  fair  light, 
My  Father's  smile,  that  makes  it  day. 


THE    OPENING  AND   CLOSING   OP  SCHOOL.  236 

Be  thou  my  guide,  and  let  me  live 

As  under  thine  all-seeing  eye  ; 
Supply  my  wants,  my  sins  forgive, 

And  make  me  happy  when  I  die. 

EVENING. 
(Tune,  Lanesborough.) 

And  now  another  day  is  gone, 

I  '11  sing  my  Maker's  praise ; 
My  comforts  every  hour  make  known 

His  providence  and  grace. 

And  till  the  night  of  death  draws  near 

O,  leave  me  not  alone, 
But  make  my  path  of  duty  clear 

Through  thy  beloved  Son. 


WEDNESDAY   MORNING. 
(From  The  American  School  Song  Book,  page  123.) 

The  eastern  hills  are  glowing 

With  morning's  purple  ray, 
Arrayed  in  light  he  's  coming, 

The  glorious  orb  of  day. 
All  hail,  thou  constant  emblem 

Of  Him  who  dwells  above ! 
Of  Him  so  great  and  glorious, 

And  yet  so  full  of  love. 

How  nature  now  rejoices, 

With  life  and  beauty  new ; 
And  every  grass-blade  twinkles 

With  pearly  drops  of  dew. 
How  good  is  He  who  made  thee, 

Thou  glorious  orb  of  day ! 
With  grateful  hearts  we  '11  praise  Him, 

In  morning's  earliest  ray. 

EVENING. 
(American  School  Song  Book,  page  146.) 

Softly  now  the  light  of  day 
Fades  upon  our  sight  away ; 

Free  from  care,  from  labor  free, 
Lord,  we  would  look  up  to  Thee. 


THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

When,  for  us,  the  light  of  day 

Shall  forever  pass  away, 
Then,  from  sin  and  sorrow  free. 

Take  us,  Lord,  to  dwell  with  Thee. 

THURSDAY   MORNING. 
(Tune,  Bonny  Doon.    American  School  Song  Book,  page  142.) 

"While  nature  welcomes  in  the  day, 
My  heart  its  earliest  vows  would  pay 
To  Him  whose  care  hath  kindly  kept 
My  life  from  danger  while  I  slept. 
O,  may  each  day  my  heart  improve, 
Increase  my  faith,  my  hope,  my  love ; 
And  may  its  shades  around  me  close 
More  wise  and  holy  than  I  rose. 

EVENING. 
(A.  S.  Song  Book,  p.  64.) 

For  a  season  called  to  part, 

Let  us  now  ourselves  commend 

To  the  gracious  eye  and  heart 
Of  our  ever-present  Friend. 

Father,  hear  our  humble  prayer, 
And  when  we  retire  to  sleep, 

Let  thy  mercy  and  thy  care 
All  our  souls  in  safety  keep. 

What  we  each  have  now  been  taught, 

If  of  God,  may  we  retain ; 
May  we,  in  thy  love,  be  brought 

Here  to  meet  in  peace  again. 


FRIDAY   MORNING. 
(Tune,  Naomi.) 

Our  Father,  who  in  heaven  art, 
Thy  name  all  hallowed  be ; 

Thy  kingdom  come  within  my  heart 
Thy  will  be  done  by  me. 


THE   OPENING  AND   CLOSING   OF   SCHOOL.  237 

Give  me  to-day  the  food  I  need, 

And  all  my  sins  forgive, 
As  1  forgive,  in  thought  and  deed, 

The  injuries  I  receive. 
And  in  temptation's  dreadful  hour, 

From  evil  keep  me  free, 
For  thine 's  the  kingdom,  glory,  power, 

Throughout  eternity. 

EVENING. 
(Tune,  Araby's  Daughter.  —  A.  S.  S.  Book,  pp.  82, 149.) 

Let  us  love  one  another, — not  long  may  we  stay 

In  this  bleak  world  of  mourning,  so  brief  is  life's  day  ; 

Some  fade  ere  'tis  noon,  and  few  linger  till  eve, 

And  there  sinks  not  a  sun  but  leaves  some  one  to  grieve ; 

E'en  the  fondest,  the  purest,  the  truest  that  met, 

Have  still  found  the  need  to  forgive  and  forget ; 

Then  O,  since  we  know  not  how  brief  is  our  day, 

Let  us  love  one  another  as  long  as  we  stay. 


SATURDAY    MORNING. 
(A.  S.  S.  Book,  p.  128.) 

How  happy  is  the  child  who  hears 
Instruction's  warning  voice, 

And  who  celestial  wisdom  makes 
His  early,  only  choice. 

She  guides  the  young  with  innocence 
In  pleasure's  path  to  tread  ; 

A  crown  of  glory  she  bestows 
Upon  the  aged  head. 

According  as  her  labors  rise, 

So  her  rewards  increase  ; 
Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 

And  all  her  paths  are  peace. 

EVENING. 
(Tun«,  Sicily.) 

Praise  to  thee,  thou  great  Creator  ! 

Praise  to  thee  from  every  tongue ; 
Join  my  soul  with  every  creature, 

Join  the  universal  song. 


238  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

For  ten  thousand  blessings  given, 

For  the  hope  of  future  joy, 
Sound  his  praise  through  earth  and  heaven, 

Sound  Jehovah's  praise  on  high. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 
(Old  Hundred.) 

Be  thou,  0  God,  exalted  high, 
And  as  thy  glory  fills  the  sky, 
So  let  it  be  on  earth  displayed, 
Till  thou  art  here  as  there  obeyed. 

(Old  Hundred.) 

From  all  who  dwell  below  the  skies, 
Let  the  Creator's  praise  arise, 
Let  the  Redeemer's  name  be  sung 
Through  every  land,  by  every  tongue. 

Eternal  are  thy  mercies,  Lord ; 

Eternal  truth  attends  thy  word ; 

Thy  praise  shall  sound  from  shore  to  shore, 

Till  suns  shall  rise  and  set  no  more. 

(Tune,  Shirland.) 

Thy  name,  Almighty  Lord, 

Shall  sound  through  distant  lands ; 

Great  is  thy  grace,  and  sure  thy  word, 
Thy  truth  forever  stands. 

Far  be  thine  honor  spread, 

And  long  thy  praise  endure, 
Till  morning  light  and  evening  shade 

Shall  be  exchanged  no  more. 

[The  author  does  not  pretend  that  there  is  any  particular 
merit  in  these  forms  of  prayer,  or  any  remarkable  beauty  in 
the  hymns;  and  he  would  be  rejoiced  to  learn  that  no  such 
guides  are  needed  by  any  young  teacher.] 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  children  to  enter  school  in  confusion 
and  to  depart  with  noise.  I  have  even  known  them,  when 
dismissed,  to  shout  and  howl  in  the  school-room,  and  even  to 
jump  over  the  forms,  in  their  eagerness  to  gain  the  door. 
The  good  teaiher  will  see  that  his  children  enter  and  leave 


THE    OPENING   AND   CLOSING   OF    SCHOOL.  239 

school  in  silence,  and  in  order.  Any  rudeness  should  be 
checked  ;  and  a  monitor  should  be  placed  over  the  garments, 
and  at  the  door,  to  see  that  all  is  done  according  to  the  regula- 
tions of  the  school.  If  the  school  consists  of  both  sexes,  and 
they  go  out  by  the  same  door,  the  girls  and  boys  should  be 
alternately  dismissed  first,  and  the  desire  to  see  which  can 
behave  best  will  often  produce  most  orderly  behavior.  If  the 
pupils  are  playing  around  the  schoolhouse,  before  school  or 
in  recess,  at  the  sound  of  a  bell,  or  at  some  other  signal  given, 
let  them  instantly  form  a  line  in  some  place  appointed  by  the 
teacher,  and  let  them  enter  in  the  order  best  adapted  to  taking 
their  several  seats.  There  would  be  no  objection  to  their 
singing  the  multiplication  table,  or  some  suitable  song,  while 
entering,  but  they  should  sing  till  all  are  seated  and  a  signal 
given  to  stop.  If  possible,  —  and  it  should  always  be  possible, 
—  the  sexes  should  have  different  yards  and  different  con- 
veniences, even  when  they  take  recess  at  different  times. 
Playing  in  the  road  is  a  bad  practice,  especially  if  the  children 
are  unruly  and  disrespectful  to  travellers.  The  credit  of  the 
town  as  well  as  that  of  the  teacher  is  involved  in  any  indeco- 
rum of  this  sort,  and  when  it  can  be  so  easily  prevented  by 
the  aid  of  a  monitor  or  two,  the  teacher  who  allows  it  is  with- 
out excuse. 

I  remember  the  time  when  it  was  the  rule  for  children  to 
stop  playing,  if  a  traveller  was  passing,  and  salute  him  with  a 
respectful  bow  or  courtesy,  and  I  regret  that  this  custom  has 
become  so  unfashionable.  When  I  pass  the  pupils  of  a  village 
school,  I  generally  test  their  manners  by  bowing  first,  and  I 
am  sorry  to  say  that  I  rarely  get  any  civil  return.  I  know  it 
is  objected  by  some,  that  the  teacher's  jurisdiction  over  his 
pupils  is  confined  to  the  school-room,  and  he  is  not  accountable 
for  their  conduct  beyond  its  walls.  But  this  is  a  great  mistake ; 
the  true  teacher  will  endeavor  to  follow  his  pupils  wherever 
they  go.  He  will,  in  school,  give  them  advice  and  direction 
in  regard  to  their  behavior  in  the  road,  at  home,  at  church,  in 
lecture-rooms,  and  everywhere  else;  and,  if  he  is  what  he 
ought  to  be,  his  pupils  will  be  distinguished  for  their  good 
conduct ;  his  school  will  have  the  credit  of  it,  and  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  teacher  will  rarely,  if  ever,  be  called  in  question. 

My  pupils,  for  years,  were  all  females,  and  my  external 
regulations  were,  of  course,  adapted  to  their  sex.  They  knew 
that  it  was  contrary  to  my  rules  for  them  to  talk  or  laugh  loud 
in  the  street,  to  gaze  at  a  deformed  person,  or  to  stop  when 


240  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

there  was  any  gathering  of  idlers  around  a  drunken  man ; 
they  knew  that  any  irreverent  conduct  in  church,  or  any  play 
or  whispering  at  lyceum  lectures  or  other  meetings,  would 
meet  with  my  disapprobation,  and  the  consequence  was  that 
I  could  send  my  whole  school  to  such  meetings  with  perfect 
confidence  that  their  behavior  would  do  honor  to  the  school. 
One  winter,  the  lecture  that  I  was  giving  to  the  pupils  and 
their  families  was  disturbed  by  the  boys,  who  accompanied 
their  sisters.  I  stopped  at  once,  as  every  lecturer  should  do, 
and  told  the  audience  what  my  rule  was,  and  declared  that  if 
I  ;was  again  interrupted,  no  boy  should  be  admitted  again. 
The  fault  was  repealed,  and  the  boys  were  all  excluded. 
After  much  intercession,  my  pupils  became  sureties  for  the 

food  behavior  of  their  brothers,  and  they  were  admitted,  and 
was  never  troubled  again,  although  I  gave  a  course  of  lectures 
every  winter  for  twenty  years.  If  I  heard  of  the  misconduct 
of  a  pupil  anywhere,  even  at  home,  I  took  the  liberty  to  let 
her  know  that  I  had  heard  of  it,  and  as  I  had  a  perfect 
understanding  with  many  parents,  the  pupils  were  often 
amazed  at  the  secrets  I  revealed  to  them.  The  teacher,  by 
law,  has  a  right,  and  is  under  obligation,  to  watch  over  his 
pupils,  when  not  under  the  immediate  eye  of  their  parents; 
and  he  may  exercise  this  right,  and  fulfil  this  important  obliga- 
tion, without  any  difficulty,  if  he  is  discreet,  and  evidently 
shows  that  he  has  the  good  of  his  charge  at  heart.  A  teacher 
who  is  circumspect  in  his  own  conduct,  and  who  is  anxious 
for  the  welfare  of  his  pupils,  may  be  sure,  I  think,  of  the  cheer- 
ful cooperation  of  parents  and  committee-men ;  and  the  more 
this  kind  of  influence  is  exerted,  the  less  employment  will 
there  be  for  the  police,  the  less  need  of  prisons  for  juvenile 
delinquents. 

But,  say  some  of  the  teachers,  we  have  little  or  no  inter- 
course with  the  parents,  and  no  opportunity  to  cooperate  with 
them.     This  shows  a  want  of  care  and  tact  on  the  part  of  a 
teacher.     It  is  not  difficult  to  communicate  with  the  parent0 
through  the  pupils,  if  the  teacher  cannot  visit  them  all ;  but  i 
his  mind  is  well  informed,  and  his  manners  agreeable  an 
refined,  he  will  usually  be  a  welcome  visitor ;  and  if  he  i 
faithful  to  the  children,  they  will  prepare  the  way  for   his 
reception  at  their  homes.     When  I  was  a  teacher,  I  contrived 
often  to  attract  the  parents  and  families  of  my  pupils  to  the 
school-room,  by  preparing  lectures  or  other  entertainments  in 
which  they  took  an  interest.     In  this  way,  I  had   constant 


THE    OPENING   AND   CLOSING    OF   SCHOOL.  241 

intercourse  with  the  parents,  and  the  best  opportunities  to 
explain  to  them  my  modes  of  instruction  and  discipline. 
This  was  productive  of  another  important  benefit,  my  own 
improvement;  for  no  man  can  get  up  as  many  courses  of  use- 
ful lectures  as  I  did,  without  much  study  and  much  activity. 
Self-culture  and  constant  progress  is  every  thing  to  the  teacher, 
and  yet  how  few  feel  its  importance ! 

Many  inquiries  of  the  young  teachers  that  I  met  at  the 
Institutes,  convinced  me  that  this  neglect  of  the  means  of  self 
improvement  prevails  to  an  alarming  degree.  Secluded  as 
most  district  teachers  are,  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  improved  methods  of  instruction  that  are 
every  day  published,  unless  they  read  such  works  as  are 
calculated  to  impart  this  information.  Let  me  illustrate  this 
remark  by  one  or  two  examples.  The  Common  School 
Journal  has  been  published  for  eight  years  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Education.  All  the  laws  of  the  state 
relating  to  education ;  all  the  Reports  of  the  Board,  and  all 
those  of  their  Secretary,  which  are  acknowledged  to  be 
unequalled  by  any  similar  papers  in  the  world  ;  many  Reports 
of  school-committees,  and  countless  essays  by  the  first  teachers 
in  the  land  on  subjects  pertaining  to  practical  teaching,  —  to 
physical,  intellectual  and  religious  instruction,  —  these  and 
similar  materials  fill  the  volumes,  and  render  the  Journal 
absolutely  essential  to  the  Massachusetts  teacher,  if  not  to  all 
teachers  ;  and  yet,  not  one  in  fifty  of  the  teachers  of  Massa- 
chusetts takes  this  Journal,  or  any  other  work  on  education  ! 
Not  one  teacher  in  fifty  has  any  library  that  deserves  the 
name,  and  how  can  he  know  what  it  is  to  study,  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word  ?  It  will  not  do  to  say,  that,  if  teachers  do 
not  subscribe  for  the  Journal,  they  read  the  copy  taken  by 
their  employers  or  neighbors ;  for  it  is  a  deplorable  fact  that 
only  five  school-committees  in  the  state  officially  take  the 
Journal,  and  of  the  309  towns  in  the  state  about  200  do  not 
take  a  single  copy.  I  know  that  most  of  the  teachers  plead 
inability  to  bear  the  expense  of  one  dollar  a  year,  but  they 
should  buy  the  Journal  to  get  the  dollar ;  for  the  mower  who 
has  no  scythe  and  feels  too  poor  to  buy  one,  will  hardly  grow 
rich.  The  teachers  complain  of  low  pay,  but  1  think  there  is 
less  reason  than  many  suppose  in  this  complaint,  for  the 
moment  that  a  teacher  increases  the  value  of  his  services,  he 
is  sure  to  find  an  employer.  The  public  will  not  pay  him  an 
advanced  price  until  he  has  rendered  himself  worthy  of  it ; 
21 


242  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITTTTE. 

and  my  position  enables  me  to  say  with  confidence,  that  the 
demand  for  good  teachers  is  fully  equal  to  the  supply. 

The  exertions  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education 
have  done  much  to  raise  the  compensation  of  teachers,  by  rais- 
ing the  teachers  themselves;  but  I  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  had 
the  teachers  communed  more  with  their  best  friend,  through 
his  writings,  they  would  have  stood  much  higher  than  they 
do.  One  or  two  of  them  have  hinted  to  me  that  the  Secretary 
aims  too  high,  and  shoots  above  them,  and  they  would  have 
him  come  down  to  their  standard  ;  but  how  clear  it  is  that 
such  a  course  would  keep  them  down.  Our  great  Master 
recommends  to  them  to  take  the  lowest  seats,  but  I  no  where 
read  that  when  the  master  of  the  feast  says  to  them,  "  Come  up 
higher,"  they  must  decline  the  invitation,  and  ask  him  to  come 
down  to  them. 

One  other  fact  shows  the  inertness  of  the  teachers  in  regard 
to  the  means  of  self-culture.  There  are  six  thousand  teachers  in 
the  state,  and  yet  hardly  fifty  of  them  are  found  at  the  Normal 
Schools,  the  greater  part  of  the  pupils  at  these  schools  being 
young  persons  who  have  never  taught.  I  am  aware  that 
many  young  teachers  may  with  justice  urge  the  expense  of 
board  at  these  schools,  —  the  tuition  being  free,  —  as  a  reason 
for  not  attending  them  ;  but  when,  with  ever  watchful  care,  the 
Board  of  Education  placed  almost  at  their  doors  the  Teachers' 
Institutes,  how  few  came  forward  to  enjoy  these  advantages, 
compared  with  the  number  who  needed  instruction,  and  might 
have  been  accommodated. 

From  numerous  letters  received  by  me,  and  from  much 
personal  intercourse  with  the  young  teachers  who  did  attend 
these  important  meetings,  I  am  satisfied  that,  at  future  Insti- 
tutes, there  will  be  less  ground  for  this  complaint.  The 
members  of  the  ten  Institutes  that  have  been  held,  appear  to 
have  gone  to  their  fields  of  labor  encouraged  and  invigorated  ; 
and  I  know  that  their  districts  have  felt  the  good  effects  of  the 
impulse  given  in  the  short  sessions  of  these  temporary  Nor- 
mal Schools.  Such  was  the  satisfaction  of  the  Barnstable 
Convention  of  the  Friends  of  Education,  who  in  a  body 
attended  the  Institute  at  Harwich,  and  such  their  wonder  that 
so  few  teachers  attended,  that  they  appointed  two  members 
of  the  Convention  for  each  town  of  the  county,  to  inform  the 
teachers  of  the  object^  of  the  Institute,  and  to  urge  them  by  all 
means  to  attend  the  next  that  may  be  held  in  their  vicinity. 
When  their  employers  have  to  do  this,  it  is  high  time  for'the 
teachers  themselves  to  be  moving. 


243 


MUSIC. 

I  HAVE  already  alluded  to  the  utility  of  music  as  a  religious 
exercise  ;  and,  although  I  have  never  attempted  by  example  to 
teach  this  pleasing  science,  I  may  be  excused  for  saying  a 
few  words  in  its  favor  as  a  branch  of  popular  education.  I 
think  mine  was  the  first  school  in  which  vocal  music  was 
regularly  taught,  after  Mr.  Mason,  by  a  private  experiment, 
had  shown  the  practicability,  as  well  as  the  utility,  of  the 
exercise.  He  was  regularly  employed  in  my  school  as  long 
as  the  school  was  continued,  and  perhaps  the  success  of  his 
labors  with  my  pupils,  as  much  as  any  circumstance,  gave 
that  impulse  to  the  science  which  has  now  made  it  a  more 
general  exercise  than  geography  or  grammar  was  half  a 
century  ago. 

The  observation  of  many  years  has  satisfied  me  that  children 
can  be  taught  to  sing  as  well,  and  as  easily,  as  they  can  be 
taught  to  read.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  every  child  in  a 
large  school  can  be  taught  to  sing  equally  well,  for  they  can 
not  be  taught  any  study  with  this  result ;  but  I  do  mean  to 
say,  that  enough  of  music  may  be  taught  to  every  child  to 
afford  him  pleasure,  and  to  assist  the  teacher  in  the  general 
discipline  of  the  school.  Nor  do  I  mean  that  every  teacher 
can  succeed  equally  well  in  learning  and  teaching  his  pupils 
to  sing ;  but  I  do  mean  that  every  teacher  may  acquire  some 
skill  in  music,  and,  by  the  aid  of  his  more  gifted  pupils,  he 
may  make  the  exercise  of  singing  extremely  useful  and  agree- 
able to  his  pupils.  The  time  has  not  yet  come,  but  is  fast 
approaching,  when  a  competent  knowledge  of  music  will  be 
considered  an  indispensable  qualification  in  a  district  school 
teacher.  In  many  towns,  preference  is  already  given,  other 
things  being  equal,  to  one  who  can  sing,  and  in  many  places 
a  teacher  who  can  not  sing  can  not  get  employment.  The 
effect  of  this  preference  has  been,  that  hundreds  who  never 
imagined  it  among  the  number  of  possible  things  that  they 
could  sing,  have  corrected  their  mistake  without  much  effort, 
and  have  acknowledged  the  additional  power  they  thus 
acquired  over  the  morals,  the  discipline,  and  the  happiness  of 
their  pupils. 


244  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

The  power  of  imitation  is  so  great  that  the  youthful  voice 
will  remember  sounds  almost  as  easily  as  words.  Much  is 
said  of  the  importance  of  teaching  what  is  taught  of  music 
scientifically,  and  1  know  of  but  one  professional  teacher  who 
has  proceeded  upon  what  I  think  the  more  easy  as  well  as  the 
more  natural  plan.*  All  children  learn  to  talk  before  they 
learn  to  read ;  and  singing  by  rote  is  to  the  reading  of  music 
what  talking  is  to  the  reading  of  books.  Many  children  learn 
to  sing  before  they  learn  to  read  books,  and  shall  such  be  pre- 
cluded from  exercising  their  sweet  voices  in  harmony  with 
those  around  them  ? 

The  main  object  of  introducing  music  into  schools  may  be 
attained  as  well  by  teaching  children  to  sing  by  the  ear  as 
by  a  more  scientific  method ;  and  why  should  a  whole  season 
be  spent  in  acquiring  this  power,  when  it  may  be  attained  in 
a  few  days  ?  I  have  seen  the  teacher  to  whom  I  have  just 
alluded,  go  into  a  school  where  singing  had  never  been 
attempted,  and  teach  the  majority  of  the  pupils  to  sing  several 
tunes  in  one  hour.  1  have  known  him  even  to  collect  the 
children  of  a  town  in  whose  schools  music  never  had  been 
taught,  and,  in  three  or  four  lessons,  prepare  hundreds  of 
them  for  a  concert  at  which  the  parents  and  the  citizens  were 
delighted  to  attend.  His  plan  was  to  select  some  simple 
melody,  such  as  was,  perhaps,  familiar  to  the  ear,  unite  it 
with  some  interesting  words,  and  then  sing  it  over  several 
limes  with  the  children.  Sometimes  he  sang  a  line  at  a  time, 
the  children  repeating  it  after  him,  till  the  tune  was  finished ; 
and  then  he  would  si»g  the  whole  tune  with  them,  till  they 
could  sing  it  alone.  As  the  model  was  good,  the  imitation 
had  few  faults,  and  the  result  confirmed  me  in  my  good 
opinion  of  that  simultaneous  exercise  of  reading  after  the 
teacher,  which  I  have  recommended  under  the  head  of 
Reading. 

The  style  of  the  music  should  be  adapted  to  the  age,  taste 
and  acquirements,  of  the  pupils.  The  infant  or  primary 
school  should  have  simple  music,  easy  of  performance,  and 
adapted  to  words  of  an  infantile  character.  If  exercises  of  the 
hands  or  feet,  marching  or  other  movements  of  the  limbs,  can 
be  united  with  the  music,  so  much  the  better.  Such  exercises 
are  given  in  the  Primary  School  Song  Book,  at  pages  9  and 

*  Mr.  Asa  Fitz,  the  author  of  the  American  School  Song  Book,  the  Primary 
School  Song  Book,  &c.,  whose  books,  I  believe,  are  constructed  on  this  plan, 
the  science  coming  last. 


MUSIC.  245 

26 ;  and  any  one  who  has  seen  the  animation  that  these  put 
into  a  school,  will  hardly  be  willing  to  substitute  for  them  a 
a  lesson  of  Time  or  Rhythm  chalked  upon  the  black-board, 
important  as  it  is  that  such  lessons  be  given  at  a  future  day. 

The  great  secret  of  good  order  and  discipline  in  school  is 
full  employment ;  and  music  enables  the  teacher  to  fill  up 
even  those  moments  which  come  between  the  regular  recita- 
tions and  are  usually  lost.  Many  good  teachers  practise 
music  between  every  exercise.  When  the  classes  go  out  to 
recite,  or  when  they  return  to  their  seats,  a  short  song,  or 
perhaps  a  single  stanza,  is  sung.  The  multiplication  table,  as 
set  to  music  by  Mr.  Fitz.  is  a  favorite  marching  tune;  and, 
besides  the  order  which  is  thus  introduced  into  the  movements 
of  the  classes,  much  noise  is  covered  up,  and  the  children's 
tongues,  being  pleasantly  engaged,  are  not  employed  in 
whispering  and  forbidden  talk. 

For  the  higher  schools,  music  adapted  to  poetry  of  a  higher 
order  should  be  sung.  It  is  the  great  fault  of  most  school 
singing-books  that  the  words  are  often  so  simple  as  to  be 
silly.  As  the  words  thus  committed  to  memory  are  usually 
retained  while  life  lasts,  they  should  be  worthy  of  being  thus 
retained.  As  far  as  my  observation  goes,  children  over  eight 
years  of  age  care  very  little  for  the  sentimental  babyisms 
that  adults  are  so  apt  to  think  peculiarly  adapted  to  them. 
I  know  no  book  which  contains  so  many  unexceptionable 
songs  and  hymns,  and  so  great  a  variety  of  pleasing 
tunes,  as  the  American  School  Song  Book,  to  which  I  have 
before  referred. 

The  amount  of  time  which  should  be  devoted  to  music 
must  depend  upon  circumstances.  If  a  hymn  is  sung  at  the 
beginning  and  end  of  school,  and  if  the  change  of  recitations 
is  accompanied  with  a  short  tune,  much  exercise  will  be 
attained.  A  short  tune  immediately  after  recess  often  tran- 
quillizes the  spirits  of  the  pupils,  and  prepares  them  for  quiet 
labor  after  active  recreation.  All  this  may  be  done  by  rote, 
but  if  the  teacher  understands  the  science  of  music,  he  may 
have  his  regular  time  for  instruction  in  this  department,  as  in 
any  other. 

The  sooner  teachers  take  hold  of  this  matter  the  better ;  for 
it  is  futile  to  expect  the  districts  to  employ  a  professional 
musician,  as  has  been  done  in  Boston,  and  one  or  two  other 
large  places.  It  would  be  easy  for  a  town  to  employ  some 
qualified  citizen,  the  leader  of  the  village  choir,  perhaps,  to  go 
21* 


246  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

from  school  to  school  once  or  twice  a  week,  until  the  teachers 
felt  competent  to  do  without  such  assistance ;  but  few,  if  any, 
towns  will  do  this,  and  the  teachers  must  act  without  regard 
to  any  such  expectation. 

In  no  one  branch  have  I  seen  the  necessity  and  utility  of 
monitorial  instruction  so  well  illustrated  as  in  music.  I  have 
known  regular  exercises  to  be  given  by  a  teacher  who  did  not 
sing  a  word  himself,  but  who  operated  by  the  agency  of  his 
better  pupils.  But  monitors  are  more  useful  in  another  way. 
If  the  school  is  large,  all  the  children  usually  form  but  one  class, 
and  practise  together.  Whether  singing  by  rote  or  by  rule, 
it  will  soon  appear  that  some  are  far  in  advance  of  the  rest, 
anxious  to  advance  faster  than  others  are  prepared  to  go,  and 
uneasy  if  they  are  detained,  while  what  is  familiar  to  them  is 
explained,  over  and  over  again,  to  those  less  apt  to  learn. 
The  teacher  may,  perhaps,  form  the  class  into  two  divisions, 
and  give  to  each  division  half  of  the  time  before  allotted  to  the 
whole ;  but  the  same  evil  will  soon  recur,  if  the  school  is 
large,  and  a  further  subdivision  will  soon  be  necessary,  if 
justice  is  done  to  all.  Now,  I  but  describe  my  own  experience 
when  I  say,  that  the  very  dullest  singers  will  often  learn 
faster  under  a  good  monitor  than  under  the  teacher,  because 
they  will  feel  more  at  ease,  and  will  get  more  actual  practice. 
The  monitor,  too,  will  be  improved ;  and  when  the  weather 
is  pleasant,  and  a  class  idle,  the  monitor  can  take  them  into 
the  open  air,  and  thus  reduce  the  number  of  those  who  are, 
perhaps,  breathing  over  for  the  tenth  time  the  atmosphere  of 
the  confined  school-room. 

It  is  remarkable  how  very  generally  the  notion  has  pre- 
vailed, that  few  can  learn  how  to  sing;  and  yet,  perhaps,  no 
person  can  be  found  who  does  not  amuse  himself  sometimes 
by  singing  or  humming  a  tune,  while  not  one  mother  in  a 
hundred,  who  sings  her  infant  to  sleep,  could  tell  a  semi- 
breve  from  a  demi-semi-quaver.  Once,  the  eminent  gentle- 
man with  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  to  cooperate  for  so  many 
years  in  my  school,  told  me  that  he  had  only  met  with  one 
pupil  that  he  thought  he  could  not  teach.  She  had  taken 
lessons  with  the  class  for  three  or  four  years,  but  made  no 
progress,  and  never  was  in  time  or  harmony  with  the  rest. 
I  afterwards  called  that  scholar  to  me,  and  asked  her  if  she 
loved  to  sing.  She  said,  "  Yes,  indeed."  "  Do  you  find 
any  difficulty  in  keeping  time  and  according  with  the  rest?" 
"Not  at  all,"  said  she;  "it  comes  perfectly  easy  to  me." 


MUSIC.  247 

"  And  you  love  to  sing  ?  "  said  I.  "  Yes,  I  do,  dearly,"  said 
she.  This  singular  instance  shows  that  no  great  degree  of 
natural  ability  or  skill  is  necessary  to  enable  one  to  take 
pleasure  in  music,  while  it  shows  how  very  rare  it  is  to  find 
a  pupil  unable  to  profit  by  instruction. 

A  case  more  encouraging  to  teachers  happened  at  one  of 
the  Institutes.  After  I  had  made  some  remarks  on  the  almost 
necessity  of  a  teacher's  being  able  to  sing,  I  saw  one  of  the 
young  female  teachers  in  tears.  On  inquiring  the  cause  of 
her  grief,  she  told  me  that  she  had  long  been  endeavoring  to 
qualify  herself  to  be  a  teacher,  and  thought  she  had  made 
some  progress ;  but  a  teacher  of  music  had  told  her  she  never 
could  learn  to  sing,  and  I  had  just  told  her  that  singing  was 
essential  to  her  success,  and  she  was  now  completely  dis- 
couraged. I  asked  her  to  read  to  me.  and  finding  that  she 
had  a  good  voice,  and  knew  how  to  modulate  it,  I  told  her  she 
might  rely  upon  it  that  she  could  learn  to  sing.  I  then  told 
her  case  to  the  teacher  of  music  who  accompanied  me  to  that 
Institute,  and  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  she  was  singing 
with  the  rest,  and  evidently  taking  pleasure  in  what  so  lately 
had  caused  her  to  despair. 


243 


EMULATION  AND  DISCIPLINE. 

As  it  is  unreasonable  in  adults  to  expect  from  children  what 
they  do  not  find  in  themselves,  I  have  never  objected  to  the 
judicious  use  of  rewards  as  a  source  of  emulation.  The  ordi- 
nary method,  however,  of  distributing  a  few  prizes,  —  such,  for 
instance,  as  the  distribution  of  the  Franklin  medals  in  the 
Grammar  Schools  of  Boston,  —  I  consider  fraught  with  evil, 
and  to  be  avoided.  Whatever  rewards  are  given,  should  be 
given  justly ;  and  the  moral  sense  of  the  whole  school  should 
be  satisfied.  The  reward  should  be  more  like  the  good  gift  that 
parents  are  said  to  know  how  to  give  to  their  children,  unex- 
pected, perhaps,  and  unpromised;  not  to  elevate  one  child 
above  his  fellows,  but  to  give  a  tangible  expression  of  appro- 
bation, in  which  all  the  fellow-students  will  rejoice.  I  have 
long  entertained  the  belief  that,  if  school-committees  would 
allow  the  pupils  themselves  to  designate  the  most  worthy,  the 
selection  would  generally  be  more  just,  as  well  as  more  satis- 
factory to  all  concerned. 

The  first  year  of  my  pedagogical  life,  I  adopted  a  plan, 
which,  with  trifling  alteration,  I  continued  for  twenty  years; 
and,  as  it  effected  all  I  desired  in  the  way  of  emulation,  and 
was  never  complained  of  in  any  one  instance,  to  my  knowl- 
edge, I  will  endeavor  briefly  to  describe  it.  The  basis  of  the 
system  was,  that  every  child  should  be  rewarded  in  exact  pro- 
poriion  to  her  desert,  and  the  reward  should  be  as  small  as  it 
could  be  and  have  any  value.  To  effect  these  two  ends,  I 
adopted  the  following  method.  A  sort  of  currency,  called 
merits,  was  established,  and  every  exercise  had  its  value. 
Every  child  knew  exactly  what  she  was  entitled  to  in  ordi- 
nary cases;  and,  in  extraordinary  cases,  a  fair  valuation  was 
made.  The  record  of  merits  was  in  fact  a  class  list,  by  which  I 
could  judge  of  the  relative  industry  and  good  behavior  of  the 
pupils.  As  the  allowance  of  an  equal  number  of  merits  to 
every  pupil,  for  a  similar  exercise,  would  have  enabled  the 
talented  to  get  more  than  those  less  gifted,  but  equally  merito- 
rious, I  always  exercised  the  right  to  do  justice  in  the  case. 
For  instance,  if  one  child  could  write  two  orthographical  exer- 
cises while  another,  doing  her  best,  could  write  only  one,  the 


EMULATION   AND   DISCIPLINE.  249 

reward  was  the  same  for  the  one  as  for  the  two.  As  good 
behavior  was  more  important  than  good  scholarship  in  any 
branch  of  study,  merits  were  given  for  this.  Again,  as  teach- 
ing was  a  part  of  the  employment  of  every  pupil,  the  faithful 
monitor  was  paid  as  much  for  teaching  as  she  would  have 
earned  at  any  study.  In  fine,  the  aggregate  of  merits  ob- 
tained by  each  for  industry,  good  behavior,  monitorship,  &c., 
determined  her  rank  on  the  merit  roll,  at  the  end  of  every 
term.  Now,  I  am  persuaded  that  such  a  merit  roll,  even  if 
not  followed  up  by  any  prizes,  would  enable  many  teachers  to 
govern  a  school  without  much,  if  any,  resort  to  the  infliction 
of  physical  pain ;  but  I  did  not  stop  here. 

Every  term,  it  was  understood  that  a  certain  sura,  called 
the  merit  fund,  would  be  distributed  among  the  pupils,  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  merits  each  had  received.  Of 
courserthe  value  of  a  merit  depended  upon  the  whole  number 
obtained  by  all  the  scholars.  If  the  fund  was  ten  dollars,  and 
the  number  of  merits  sixty  thousand,  sixty  merits  would  be 
equal  to  one  cent.  When  I  first  adopted  this  plan,  the  merits 
were  so  few,  that  ten  or  twelve  were  worth  a  cent ;  but  when 
I  had  taught  ten  years,  the  facility  of  doing  every  kind  of 
exercise  was  so  much  greater,  that  it  rarely  took  less  than  70 
or  80  merits  to  represent  a  cent.  This,  in  a  pecuniary  point 
of  view,  was  next  to  nothing;  and  yet  it  was  sufficient  to 
induce  every  pupil  to  take  good  care  of  her  exercises,  as  well 
as  to  write  them,  and  it  led  to  a  more  careful  attention  to  the 
school  record.  Besides  these  merits,  we  had  also  what  we 
called  demerits,  which  were  given  for  misconduct,  careless 
exercises,  neglected  lessons,  &c.  These  were  recorded,  also, 
and,  if  unatoned  for,  were  deducted  from  the  scholar's  merits 
at  the  end  of  the  term.  As  I  soon  knew  the  character  and 
capacity  of  every  pupil,  and  had,  moreover,  the  advice  of  my 
monitors,  it  was  easy  to  do  justice  to  every  child ;  and  as  the 
pupils  knew  that  I  aimed  to  be  just  and  impartial,  I  never 
heard  any  complaint. 

At  the  end  of  the  term,  every  child  was  required  to  bring 
up  such  exercises  as  had  been  written  or  drawn,  or  otherwise 
preserved,  neatly  filed,  as  vouchers  for  the  merits  she  claimed. 
These  exercises  had  all  been  examined  by  me,  and  the  merits 
they  were  entitled  to,  awarded  at  the  time  they  were  corrected. 
Then  all  the  class  lists  on  which  the  lessons  recited,  mis- 
takes made,  &c.,  had  been  recorded  from  day  to  day,  were 
added  up,  and  merits  awarded.  Next,  the  record  of  conduct 


250  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

was  attended  to ;  that  of  absence  and  tardiness,  &c.  Some- 
times monitors  would  report  pupils  as  having  made  extraor- 
dinary efforts  to  improve ;  sometimes  acts  of  kindness,  for- 
bearance, disinterestedness,  &c.,  would  be  reported,  inquired 
into,  and  rewarded  :  and  the  consequence  was,  that  character 
became  a  matter  of  some  importance,  and  her  due  rank  was 
assigned  to  every  pupil.  After  a  little  practice,  all  this  re- 
quired but  little  time  ;  so  little,  indeed,  that  a  visitor  would 
hardly  have  noticed  that  any  record  was  kept  in  the  school. 

This  was  the  system  by  which  I  governed  about  a  hundred 
pupils  for  eighteen  or  twenty  years,  without  once  resorting  to 
corporal  punishment  of  any  kind.  If  any  one  has  fears  that 
other  evils,  worse  than  physical  pain,  were  induced  by  this 
course  of  discipline,  I  can  only  say,  that  I  never  saw  any  ill 
effects  ;  and  whether  I  should  have  been  likely  to  see  or  hear, 
by  myself  or  my  monitors,  the  reader  may  judge. 

The  district  teacher  may  not  often  find  a  committee  ready 
and  willing  to  make  a  small  grant  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
out  this  system,  and  he  may  not  feel  able  to  appropriate  a 
small  sum  for  this  purpose  from  his  wages ;  but  he  will  do 
well  to  try  the  system  without  attaching  any  pecuniary  value 
to  the  merits.  So  evident  was  the  good  effect  of  this  system 
at  school,  that  several  parents  adopted  it  at  home,  with  similar 
results,  in  the  government  of  their  children. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  is  a  sort  of  medium  between 
that  system  of  fear  which  brutalizes  the  pupil,  by  treating  him 
as  one  void  of  understanding,  and  that  transcendental  system 
which  expects  him  to  do  well  from  the  mere  love  of  right 
and  truth  and  goodness.  It  is  not  a  mere  theory,  for  I  have 
tested  it  successfully  for  twenty  years ;  it  is  not  applicable 
only  to  one  class  of  children,  for  I  tried  it  with  equal  success 
upon  the  unfortunate  children  of  my  first  school,  and  upon  the 
middling  and  higher  classes  of  my  second.  I  believe  it  is 
fully  competent,  in  the  hands  of  a  discreet  and  patient  teacher, 
to  maintain  order  and  encourage  industry  in  any  district 
school,  and  I  recommended  a  trial  of  it  to  the  teachers  at 
some  of  the  Institutes.  At  all  of  these,  the  subject  of  corporal 
punishment  was  freely  discussed,  and  I  was  surprised  at  the 
prevalence  of  the  milder  system.  I  had  a  good  opportunity  to 
learn  the  opinions  and  the  practice  of  the  young  teachers,  and 
I  know  I  speak  within  bounds  when  I  say,  that  half  of  them 
disclaimed  the  use  of  corporal  punishment  altogether,  and  all 
considered  it  the  lowest  and  last  resort  of  the  teacher. 


EMULATION   AND    DISCIPLINE.  251 

Can  it  be,  as  some  pretend,  that  in  introducing  a  milder 
system  of  discipline,  one  that  appeals  more  to  the  reason  and 
conscience  of  the  pupil,  and  less  to  his  physical  susceptibility 
to  pain,  we  are  "  throwing  ourselves  across  the  Word  of 
God,"  "  treading  the  Bible  under  foot,"  "  rejecting  the  inspi 
ration  of  the  Scriptures,"  and  making  "  infidel  factories  of  our 
common  schools  ? "  If  I  thought  there  was  any  truth  in  this 
charge,  any  tendency  to  this  terrible  result,  I  should  be  the 
last  man  to  persevere  in  the  course  I  have  recommended. 
The  charge  is  absurd,  but  it  has  been  often  and  very  lately 
reiterated,  and  it  is  of  such  moment  that  I  hope  to  be  pardoned 
if  I  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  it. 

All  the  defenders  of  corporal  punishment  have  agreed  in 
citing  the  precepts  of  Solomon,  as  the  principal,  if  not  the 
only  direct  command  or  authority,  for  the  infliction  of  bodily 
pain  upon  children,  and  the  passages  most  relied  on  are  the 
following : 

Prov.  xiii.  24.  "  He  that  spareth  his  rod  hateth  his  son ;  but  he 
that  loveth  him  chasteneth  him  betimes." 

Prov.  xix.  18.  "  Chasten  thy  son  while  there  is  hope,  and  let  not 
thy  soul  spare  for  his  crying." 

Prov.  xxii.  15.  "  Foolishness  is  bound  in  the  heart  of  a  child,  but 
the  rod  of  correction  shall  drive  it  far  from  him." 

Prov.  xxix.  15.    "  The  rod  and  reproof  give  wisdom." 

Prov.  xxiii.  13.  "  Withhold  not  correction  from  the  child  ;  for  if 
thou  beatest  him  with  the  rod,  he  shall  not  die." 

14.  "  Thou  shalt  beat  him  with  the  rod,  and  shalt  deliver  his  soul 
from  hell." 

The  argument  assumes  that  these  precepts,  and  a  few 
others  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  are  the  commands  of 
God,  and  of  perpetual  obligation,  and  any  attempt  to  lessen 
their  obligation,  even  upon  those  not  under  the  Law,  is 
impiety,  if  not  fatal  heresy.  One  writer,  in  a  religious  paper, 
went  so  far  as  to  assert,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  every  man  to 
use  the  rod,  whether  his  child  deserved  it  or  not. 

The  milder  system  of  discipline  rests  its  defence  upon  such 
passages  as  the  following,  from  the  New  Testament,  but  more 
especially  upon  the  milder  spirit  that  pervades  the  teachings 
of  the  Gospel. 

1  Peter  iii.  8.  "  Be  ye  all  of  one  mind,  having  compassion  one 
of  another  ;  love  as  brethren,  be  pitiful,  be  courteous  ;  not  rendering 
evil  for  evil,  but  contrariwise,  blessing." 

1  Thess.  v.  14,     "  Now  we  exhort  you,  brethren,  warn  them  that 


252  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

are  unruly  ;  comfort  the  feeble-minded ;  support  the  weak  ;  be  patient 
toward  all.  See  that  none  render  evil  for  evil  unto  any." 

Romans,  xii.  17.  "Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for  evil."  19. 
"  Dearly  beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves,  but  give  place  unto  wrath  ; 
for  it  is  written,  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord." 
31.  "  Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good." 

Matt.  v.  39.    Jesus  says,  "  I  say  unto  you  that  ye  resist  not  evil." 

Matt,  xviii.  21.  "  Peter  said,  Lord,  how  oft  shall  my  brother 
sin  against  me  and  I  forgive  him,  till  seven  times?  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  I  say  not  uuto  thee  till  seven  times,  but  until  seventy  times 
seven." 

Luke  xvii.  3.  "  If  thy  brother  trespass  against  thee,  rebuke  him  ; 
and  if  he  repent,  forgive  him.  And  if  he  trespass  against  thee  seven 
times  in  a  day,  and  seven  times  in  a  day  turn  again  to  thee,  saying, 
I  repent;  thou  shalt  forgive  him." 

Mark  xi.  26.  "  If  ye  do  not  forgive,  neither  will  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven  forgive  your  trespasses." 

2  Tim.  i.  7.  "  For  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of  fear ;  but 
of  power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind." 

1  John  iv.  16.    "  God  is  love."     18.  "  There  is  no  fear  in  love." 

Ephes.  iv.  15.   "  Speaking  the  truth  in  love." 

There  is  not  a  word  in  the  New  Testament  about  the  literal 
use  of  the  rod  ;  and  the  figurative  prophecy  of  Isaiah  was  liter- 
ally fulfilled,  when,  as  if  contrasting  the  rod  of  the  ancient 
system  with  that  of  the  Gospel,  he  says,  "  There  shall  come 
forth  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse — and  he  shall  smite  the 
earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth." 

Now  I  do  not  conceive  the  belief  in  the  plenary  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures  to  be  at  all  affected  by  the  entire  disuse  of 
the  rod.  It  seems  to  me  that  St.  Paul  knew  the  bearing  of 
his  words,  when  he  said  to  the  Hebrews,  to  reconcile  them  to 
giving  up  the  law  of  Moses,  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times,  and 
in  divers  manners,  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son, 
whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  also  he 
made  the  worlds,"  &c.  This  passage  conveys  to  my  mind 
the  doctrine,  that  God  spake  by  the  prophet  Moses,  and  gave 
such  instruction  as  befitted  the  condition  of  our  race  at  that 
remote  period ;  that,  by  subsequent  prophets,  he  gave  more 
and  more  light,  but  the  full  revelation  came  not  until  the  Son 
of  God  himself  came  among  men.  "  The  law  was  given  by 
Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ." 

The  very  fact  that  a  second  revelation  was  made,  proves 
that  the  former  one  was  not  complete ;  but  it  does  not  prove 
that  holy  men  did  not  speak  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 


EMULATION   AND   DISCIPLINE.  253 

Spirit.  Jesus,  in  educating  his  disciples,  says  to  them,  as 
God  might  have  said  "  to  them  of  old  time,"  "  I  have  man} 
things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  Paul 
says  to  Timothy,  when  speaking  of  the  Old  Testament,  "  From 
a  child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  [of  the  Old 
Testament,]  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salva- 
tion," not  of  themselves,  "  but  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus." 

In  accordance  with  this  view,  is  that  other  declaration  of 
Paul  to  the  Galatians,  iii.  23 :  "  Before  faith  came,  we  were 
kept  under  the  law,  shut  up  unto  the  faith  which  should  after- 
wards be  revealed.  Wherefore,  the  law  was  our  school- 
master, to  bring  us  unto  Christ;  but  after  that  faith  is  come, 
we  are  no  longer  under  a  schoolmaster."  It  by  no  means 
follows,  therefore,  that,  because  the  Gospel,  "  in  these  last 
days,"  spoke  more  clearly  or  more  mildly  than  the  law  had 
done  two  thousand  years  before,  Moses  was  any  the  less 
inspired. 

The  Proverbs  that  I  have  cited  are  attributed  to  Solomon, 
and  if  he  was  one  of  the  prophets  alluded  to  by  Paul,  and  even 
superior  to  Moses  in  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  this  would 
not  weaken  my  position  ;  for  Jesus  himself  told  the  Jews  that 
the  conduct  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  condemned  them,  for  she 
went  to  hear  only  the  wisdom  of  Solomon ;  but,  added  he, 
"  a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here." 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  gospel  of  Jesus  not  only  revealed 
to  us  the  true  character  of  God,  viz.,  that  of  a  tender  Father, 
but  it  revealed  much  in  regard  to  the  relation  of  parent  to 
child,  of  man  to  man,  and  of  man  to  God.  Hence,  Solomon 
tells  us,  what  no  doubt  was  true  in  his  experience,  that, 
"  Foolishness  is  bound  in  the  heart  of  a  child,  but  the  rod  of 
correction  shall  drive  it  from  him;"  but  our  Saviour  takes  little 
children  in  his  arms,  and  blesses  them,  and  declares  that  "  of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Nay,  he  even  sets  one  of 
the  little  ones  up  before  his  disciples,  and  tells  them  that 
unless  they  become  such,  they  cannot  enter  into  his  kingdom. 

It  would  be  unsafe,  also,  as  well  as  unnecessary,  it  appears 
to  me,  to  assume  that  every  precept  of  Solomon  is  binding 
upon  those  who  believe  the  Gospel ;  for  the  consequence 
would  be  terrible  indeed.  For  instance ;  Solomon,  alluding 
to  the  Law  of  Moses,  says,  Prov.  xx.  20,  "  Whoso  curseth  his 
father  or  his  mother,  his  lamp  shall  be  put  out  in  obscure 
We  are  bound,  then,  to  put  disobedient  children 
22 


254  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

to  death,  if  the  Gospel  has  not  taught  us  otherwise.  We 
find  no  such  thing  under  the  new  dispensation,  but  we  have 
the  mild  precept,  "  Children,  obey  your  parents,"  not  through 
fear  of  being  stoned  to  death,  but  for  the  reason  given  by  the 
apostle,  viz.,  "  This  is  right,"  "  This  is  well-pleasing  unto 
the  Lord."  "The  law  and  the  prophets  were"  only  "  until 
John,  and  since  that  time,  the  kingdom  of  God  is  preached." 

Other  precepts  of  Solomon  and  Moses,  seem  to  me  to  have 
been  superseded  by  those  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles ;  and, 
therefore,  when  Jesus  says,  that  "  One  jot  or  one  tittle  shall 
in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled,"  I  am  led  to 
think  that  all  was  fulfilled,  when,  on  the  cross,  the  Redeemer 
declared  that  "  it  was  finished." 

The  law  of  Moses  evidently  allowed  retaliation,  but  if  I 
understand  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  there  expressly  for- 
bidden. "  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  an  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  ;  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  resist 
not  evil."  If  this  does  not  directly  repeal  the  retaliatory 
clauses  of  the  Mosaic  law,  I  know  not  how  to  read.  Again, 
the  Jews  were  under  the  yoke  of  the  law,  and  Christ  says  to 
them,  "Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me;  for  my 
yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light."  Here  are  two  yokes, 
and  one  is  to  be  rejected,  because  both  cannot  be  worn.  The 
masters  are  so  different,  that  no  man  can  serve  them  both.  I 
will  name  but  one  other  instance  of  many  that  crowd  upon 
my  memory.  Solomon  says,  Eccles.  iii.  19,  that  men  die 
like  the  beasts.  "  Yea,  they  have  all  one  breath"  "  so  that  a 
man  hath  no  preeminence  above  a  beast ;"  and  he  asks, 
tauntingly,  "  Who  knoweth  that  the  spirit  of  man  goeth 
upward,  and  that  the  spirit  of  the  beast  goeth  downward  to 
the  earth  ? "  Nothing  shows  more  clearly  than  such  a  sen- 
tence, what  is  meant  by  the  glorious  truth,  that,  "  Life  and 
Immortality  are  brought  to  light  by  the  Gospel." 

If  I  read  my  Bible  aright,  the  human  race  has  been  edu- 
cated like  a  child,  and  the  divers  speakings  of  God  to  it  have 
been  adapted  to  its  state  of  progress.  It  seems  to  me,  that 
the  question  of  the  plenary  inspiration  of  Moses  or  Solomon 
is  not  affected  by  the  fact  that  the  grace  of  God  has  revealed 
more  of  his  will  since  they  were  inspired  to  speak;  but,  at 
any  rate,  I  feel  bound  to  follow  the  teachings  of  the  Saviour,  in 
whom  alone  dwelt  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily. 

Is  it  not  evident,  therefore,  that  the  "sundry  times"  have 
been  those  of  Moses,  of  the  Prophets  and  of  Jesus  Christ ; 


EMULATION   AND  DISCIPLINE. 

that  the  "  divers  manners  "  were  those  of  the  Law,  the  Proph- 
ets and  the  Gospel  ?  and  is  it  not  also  evident,  that  we  must 
receive  the  latest  revelation  as  we  do  human  laws  required 
by  the  progress  of  civilization  and  humanity,  to  which  are 
usually  appended  the  provision,  that  "  all  laws  or  portions  of 
la\vs  inconsistent  with  the  last  are,  by  its  enaction,  repealed  ?" 

I  know  it  will  be  said,  —  for  it  has  just  been  said  by  the  editor 
of  a  new  religious  magazine,  got  up  mainly  to  keep  the  rod 
in  the  schools,  —  that  God,  in  his  providence,  inflicts  physical 
pain,  and  our  Saviour,  once  at  least,  made  a  whip  and  drove 
those  who  sold  cattle  from  the  temple.  But  if  any  one  thing 
is  evidently  taught  by  our  Saviour,  it  is,  that  God  does  not 
punish  moral  offences  by  inflicting  physical  pain.  Even  the 
ancient  Scriptures  assert,  that  sinners  live  and  die  like  other 
men :  "  There  is  one  event  to  the  righteous  and  the  wicked :" 
and  who  dares  say  that  God  does  not  send  his  rain  on  the 
unjust  as  well  as  on  the  just?  Some  physical  excesses,  to  be 
sure,  draw  their  punishment  after  them ;  but  the  tower  of 
Siloam  did  not  fall  on  certain  men  because  they  were  sinners 
above  all  others ;  the  man  was  not  born  blind  because  he  or 
his  parents  had  sinned.  Those  who  have  urged  this  argu- 
ment have  also  expressed  the  utmost  horror  at  that  tenet  of 
one  portion  of  the  Universalists,  which  asserts  that  sin  carries 
its  punishment  with  it  in  this  world,  and,  this  obviates  the 
necessity  of  a  future  judgment;  yet  this  tenet  is  confirmed 
by  that  which  considers  physical  evil  as  the  punishment 
of  moral  guilt ;  so  true  is  it  that  extremes  are  most  apt 
to  meet.  In  regard  to  the  alleged  violence  used  by  our  Sa- 
viour, it  should  be  known  that  the  original  Greek,  and  some 
translations,  authorize  no  such  wrong  to  the  gentle  character 
of  the  blessed  Redeemer ;  but  only  assert  that  he  made  a  whip 
of  small  cords,  that  is,  he  used  small  cords  as  a  whip,  to  drive 
the  animals,  and  not  the  men,  from  the  temple.  Even  our 
translation  may  mean  this ;  but  the  French  protestant  version 
reads  thus :  "  He  drove  all  out  of  the  temple,  both  the  sheep 
and  the  bulls."  So  says  the  Greek,  so  says  the  Vulgate,  so 
says  Beza,  and  so  would  our  common  English  version  say, 
if  the  word  them  were  printed  in  Italic  type,  as  words  gener- 
ally are  that  were  inserted  by  the  translators  on  their  own 
authority,  and  if,  as  in  Tindal's  early  and  excellent  version, 
the  first  and  were  rendered  by  both,  according  to  our  idiom. 

Were  it  not  so  perfectly  evident  that  the  translation  is  at 
fault  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  it  seems 


256  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 

to  me  that  the  whole  course  of  his  benignant  teaching,  the 
whole  tenor  of  his  patient,  long-suffering  and  unaggressive 
life,  should  have  saved  him  from  the  charge ;  and  yet,  to  sup- 
port a  practice  which  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  has  long  been 
silently  repudiating,  some  men  have  been  willing  to  affix  a 
stigma  to  the  character  of  Jesus  entirely  at  variance  with 
every  word,  and  with  every  other  act  of  his  life. 

Those  who  have  not  been  satisfied  with  the  Scripture  argu- 
ment for  corporal  punishment,  have  urged  another,  that  would 
deserve  serious  consideration,  if  the  fact  on  which  it  is  based 
were  true.  We  are  told  that  vice  and  crime  are  on  the 
increase,  and  that  this  deterioration  of  morals  can  only  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  great  progress  of  the  milder  system  of 
discipline  within  a  few  years. 

Now,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  there  is  any  increase  of 
crime  beyond  the  natural  increase  of  population,  and  the 
unusual  increase  of  uneducated  foreigners.  On  the  contrary, 
the  facts,  that  there  has  been  great  general  improvement  in  all 
the  schools  of  the  state,  as  proved  by  the  annual  Abstracts  of 
School  Returns ;  that  every  year  the  number  of  schools 
broken  up  by  the  insubordination  of  pupils  has  greatly 
diminished;  and  that  many  hundreds,  even  of  winter  schools, 
have  been  taught,  and  easily  managed,  by  females;  would 
indicate  a  great  improvement  in  the  state,  even  if,  in  one  or 
two  large  towns,  the  criminal  calendar  may  seem  to  have 
increased.  But,  were  we  to  grant  that  crime  has  increased,  it 
would  not  follow  that  the  milder  discipline  of  the  schools  has 
been  the  cause  of  it,  unless  it  also  follows  that  a  more  direct 
attempt  to  educate  the  conscience,  the  affections,  and  the 
higher  sentiments  of  a  child,  has  a  tendency  to  reduce  him 
nearer  to  the  level  of  the  beasts  that  perish.  The  fact  is,  that 
vice  and  crime  abound  most  where  the  lenient  system  of  dis- 
cipline complained  of  has  never  been  approved,  has  never 
prevailed. 

It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  whenever  the  use  of  the 
rod  is  recommended  in  the  ancient  Scriptures,  it  is  to  be  in 
the  hands  of  parents ;  for  there  were  no  schools  nor  school- 
masters in  those  days.  It  is  hardly  probable  that  Solomon 
would  have  urged  so  strongly  the  exercise  of  the  rod.  had  he 
not  known  that  the  natural  feelings  of  the  parent  would  some- 
times be  averse  to  even  reasonable  chastisement.  I  know 
it  will  be  objected  that  the  teacher  stands  in  the  parent's 
place ;  and  so  he  does  to  a  certain  degree,  and  it  is  sometimes 


EMULATION   AND   DISCIPLINE. 

fortunate  that  he  does ;  but  he  can  not  have  the  natural  affec- 
tion of  a  parent ;  his  office  was  unknown  in  the  age  of  Solo- 
mon, and,  therefore,  no  precept  of  Solomon  can,  with  justice,  be 
applied  to  the  intercourse  between  teacher  and  pupil,  which  is 
the  subject  under  consideration. 

I  should  not,  as  some  do,  recommend  the  disuse  of  the  rod 
without  allowing  the  free  use  of  other  motives.  Of  these, 
there  is  a  choice,  and  the  highest  that  will  move  the  child 
should  always  be  preferred.  I  do  not  allow  the  infliction  of 
physical  pain  to  be  an  intellectual  motive,  and,  therefore,  I 
never  use  it  in  the  discipline  of  beings  that  have  minds,  and 
hearts,  and  consciences,  and  souls.  If  I  err  in  this,  I  err  on 
the  side  of  humanity.  I  do  not  act  contrary  to  what  I  con- 
sider to  be  the  spirit  of  my  Divine  Master.  I  do  not  act,  as 
some  seem  to  think,  from  any  perverse  wish  to  go  wrong,  or 
from  any  disrespect  to  the  revealed  will  of  God. 

I  hope  I  shall  be  excused  for  attempting,  less  briefly  than  I 
could  wish,  to  remove  the  fears  of  those  whose  tenderness  of 
conscience  may  have  prevented  them  from  cultivating  that 
tenderness  of  disposition  which  prefers  long  suffering,  patience, 
and  kindness,  to  the  free  use  of  the  rod.  I  have  never  main- 
tained that  there  may  not  be  good  schools  where  the  rod  is 
applied ;  I  have  never  maintained  that  a  teacher,  who  did  not 
know  what  else  to  do,  might  not  resort  to  the  rod  till  he  was 
better  informed.  I  am  no  lover  of  confusion,  no  apologist  for 
disobedience,  but  one  who  believes  sincerely  that  the  fear  of 
bodily  pain,  though  producing  temporary  submission,  rarely 
produces  any  change  in  the  moral  condition  of  the  offender. 
I  reason  from  my  own  experience  when  a  pupil ;  from  my 
own  experience  as  a  teacher ;  from  the  confession  of  other 
teachers,  who  have  used  the  rod,  and  of  pupils  who  have  been 
subjected  to  it ;  I  reason,  in  fine,  from  what,  after  much  study, 
I  believe  to  be  the  real  instruction  of  the  Bible  on  the  subject ; 
and  having  no  interest  in  the  question,  except  the  love  of  chil- 
dren, the  love  of  teachers,  and  the  love  of  truth,  I  trust  my 
character  will  not  suffer  because  I  honestly  express  my  con- 
victions. 

22* 


258  THE  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 


THE    CONCLUSION. 

I  HAVE  thus,  in  great  haste,  given  my  thoughts  upon  such 
points  as  were  agitated  at  the  Teachers'  Institutes,  and  I  can 
only  hope  that  my  book  will  be  received  by  the  younger  part 
of  the  profession  with  as  much  kindness  and  respect  as  was 
shown  to  my  personal  instructions.  I  have  much  more  to 
say,  but  I  fear  that  I  have  already  exceeded  the  limits  of  a 
school  manual.  In  taking  leave  of  my  young  friends,  I 
would,  therefore,  only  add,  that  the  faithful  teacher,  on  every 
plan,  has  much  to  do  and  much  to  endure.  He  must  be  con- 
tented to  labor  and  be  ill-rewarded ;  he  must  be  willing  to  see 
his  pupils  increase  while  he  decreases ;  and  even  to  see  the 
world,  whose  movement  he  has  accelerated, .  leaving  him 
behind.  No  matter  ;  —  the  school  of  life  lasts  not  long,  and 
its  best  rewards  are  reserved  till  school  is  over. 

When  Jupiter  offered  the  prize  of  immortality  to  him  who 
was  most  useful  to  mankind,  the  court  of  Olympus  was 
crowded  with  competitors.  The  warrior  boasted  of  his 
patriotism,  but  Jupiter  thundered;  —  the  rich  man  boasted  of 
his  munificence,  and  Jupiter  showed  him  a  widow's  mite  ;  — 
the  pontiff  held  up  the  keys  of  heaven,  and  Jupiter  pushed  the 
doors  wide  open  ;  —  the  painter  boasted  of  his  power  to  give 
life  to  inanimate  canvass,  and  Jupiter  breathed  aloud  in  deri- 
sion ;  —  the  sculptor  boasted  of  making  gods  that  contended 
with  the  Immortals  for  human  homage  ;  Jupiter  frowned  ;  — 
the  orator  boasted  of  his  power  to  sway  a  nation  with  his 
voice,  and  Jupiter  marshalled  the  obedient  hosts  of  heaven 
with  a  nod  ;  —  the  poet  spoke  of  his  power  to  move  even  the 
gods  by  praise ;  Jupiter  blushed ;  —  the  musician  claimed  to 
practise  the  only  human  science  that  had  been  transported  to 
heaven;  Jupiter  hesitated,  —  when,  seeing  a  venerable  man 
looking  with  intense  interest  upon  the  group  of  competitors, 
but  presenting  no  claim,  —  "What  art  thou?"  said  the  benig- 
nant monarch.  "  Only  a  spectator,"  said  the  gray-headed 
sage;  "all  these  were  once  my  pupils."  "Crmvn  him  • 
crown  him .' "  said  Jupiter ;  "  crown  the  faithful  teacher  with 
immortality,  and  make  room,  for  him  at  my  right  hand ! " 


LIST  OF  BOOKS 

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BOOKSELLER  AND   PUBLISHER, 

No.  138j|,  Washington  Street, 

BOSTON. 


THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  JOURNAL,  Edited  by  HORACE  MANN, 
Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts'  Board  of  Education. 

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jMiiiiiL     aa     IIIG  .fifiii  uai    tniu.>     at     tapu     iiaiiua.        A  uc   jumiiai     lias    iiccil    klic    f.llimm    aliu 

successful  friend  of  Common  School  Teachers,  and  their  neglect  of  it  has  been  just  in 
proportion  to  its  zeal  in  their  behalf. 


pa»es.  is  u,  men,  100  imicu  10  asu,  uiui  an  wno  proiess  10  love  me  great  worn  10 
which  the  Journal  is  devoted,  should  see  to  it  that  it  is  more  extensively  circulated  and 
read? 

A  convention  of  the  friends  of  education  in  one  of  our  counties  lately  voted  that 
"  they  should,  in  selecting  teachers,  give  the  preference  to  those  who  most  liberally  used 
the  means  which  have  been  furnished  for  their  improvement."  It  is  difficult  to  imagine 
how  so  many  teachers,  who  neglect  all  these  means  as  they  do,  can  dare  to  apply  for  a 
school,  and  how  any  committee  can  risk  the  employment  of  them.  The  teachers  seem 
to  be  waiting  for  an  impulse  from  their  employers,  instead  of  giving  one  themselves. 

THE  EYE  AND  HAND,  or  Practical  Lessons  in  Drawing,  for  the  training 
of  those  important  organs;  by  WM.  B.  FOWLE. 

The  object  of  this  little  volume  is,  to  furnish  regular  and  systematic  lessons,  such  as 
teachers,  unacquainted  with  drawing,  may  use  with  advantage,  and  such  as  all  children 
may  and  ougnt  to  learn.  This  work  is  devoted  to  that  portion  of  the  art  which  is  sub- 
ject to  fixed  rules,  and  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  Drawing,  considered  as  a  Science. 
Trade  price,  31}cts. 

THE  BIBLE  READER.  A  selection  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
in  the  very  words  of  Scripture,  without  note  or  comment.  This  selection  is  highly 
recommended  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks,  editor  of  the  Comprehensive  Commentary ;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Homer,  late  of  Newton;  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Abbot;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Frothingham,  and 
the  Rev.  Baron  Stow,  of  Boston,  A.C.,  fcc.  The  book  is  adopted  in  Charlestown.  and 
other  places  distinguished  for  the  excellence  of  their  schools  By  WM.  B.  FOWLS. 
Trade  price,  42  cts." 

The  following  recommendation  from  the  late  Rev.  Jonathan  Homer,  D.  D.,  of  Newton, 
will  show  the  care  with  which  the  work  was  prepared,  and  the  estimation  in  which  it 
was  held  by  that  excellent  scholar  and  Christian. 

"  It  was  prepared  by  its  indefatigable  and  judicious  compiler  from  several  of  the  best 
aids  in  the  English  language.  Living,  then,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  author,  I  was  indulged 
with  the  privilege  of  examining  its  sheets  as  they  came  into  his  hands  for  correction; 
and  when,  at  length,  it  was  completed,  and  I  could  compare  all  its  sections  with  each 
other,  and  with  the  divine  book  of  the  old  and  new  covenant,  it  met  my  warmest  appro- 


2 

bation.  The  prominent  facts,  doctrines,  and  duties  of  Revelation  were  placed  before  me, 
and  the  parallel  scriptures  happily  enforced  these  doctrines  and  duties  on  the  under- 
standing and  heart  nf  the  reader.  It  was  never  designed  to  supplant  the  Holy  Bible, 
but  to  induce  a  taste  for  the  Scriptures  in  the  mind  of  the  young,  and  prepare  them  to 
proceed  from  it  to  reading  the  Bible  at  large.  I  hope  that  this  work  will  soon  be  exten- 
sively used  in  schools  and  families,  and  I  know  several  clergymen  besides  myself  who 
read  this  little  book  at  their  family  devotions  and  prize  it  highly.  It  is  designed  for 
children  and  readers  of  every  Christian  sect,  and  would  be  a  valuable  book  for  distribu- 
tion among  the  poor.  I  desire  those  elevated  Americans,  to  whom  the  general  care  of 
providing  religious  instruction  for  our  schools  belongs,  to  examine  this  book." 

THE  COMMON  SCHOOL,  SPELLER,  by  WM.  B.  FOWLE,  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Mann,  in  his  Lecture  on  Spelling  Books,  and  in  "The  School  and 
Schoolmaster."  by  Geo.  B.  Emerson  and  Dr.  Potter.  It  is  used  in  Salem,  Newhuryport, 
Portsmouth,  Portland,  Bangor,  Providence,  Cambridge,  Lynn,  Springfield,  and  hundreds 
of  other  towns,  —  the  work  having  passed  through  about  fifty  editions  already. 

The  peculiar  excellence  of  this  Spelling  Book  consists  in  its  perfect  classification  of  all 
the  words,  so  that  the  pronunciation  as  well  as  the  vrthography  is  easily  acquired.  No 
Spelling  Book  in  this  country  ever  had  so  rapid  an  introduction.  The  accurate  classifi- 
cation renders  the  usual  methods  of  marking  sounds,  which  mar  other  Spelling  Books, 
unnecessary,  and  so  diminished  the  number  of  irregular  words  that  they  almost  disap- 
pear. 

Mr.  Mann  says  of  this  Speller :  "  In  such  lessons  as  these,  scholars  will  very  rarely 
spell  wrong.  They  can  go  through  this  Spelling  Book  twenty  times  while  they  go 
through  a  common  Spelling  Book  once,  and  each  time  will  rivet  the  association,  and 
make  of  habit  an  ally  of  unconquerable  force." 

THE  COMPANION  TO  SPELLING  BOOKS,  by  WM.  B.  FOWLB, 
in  which  the  Orthography  and  meaning  of  many  thousand  words,  most  liable  to  be  mis- 
spelled and  misused,  are  impressed  upon  the  memory  by  a  series  of  exercises  to  be 
written  by  the  pupil.  Recommended  by  Wm.  Russell,  Richard  G.  Parker,  and  others, 
and  extensively  used  in  the  best  schools  and  academies,  to  promote  industry,  improve 
discipline,  and  introduce  the  pupils  to  English  Composition. 

This  is  a  new  work,  and  the  first  in  this  department  of  School  Books.  Every  teacher 
knows  that  if  spelling  is  not  connected  with  writing,  the  child  is  always  apt  to  blunder 
when  called  on  to  commit  his  thoughts  to  paper.  These  exercises  connect  spelling  with 
writing,  and  by  the  introduction  of  all  words  liable  to  be  misspelled,  and  the  proper  use 
or  definition  of  them  in  a  suitable  sentence,  the  child  is  introduced  to  composition,  and 
the  use  of  Definition  Spelling  Books  and  Dictionaries  is  superseded.  Idleness  in  all 
schools  is  the  great  evil,  for  it  is  the  parer.t  of  mischief,  and,  of  course,  the  origin  of 
punishment.  The  schools  have  long  needed  an  exercise  to  which  the  classes  that 
nave  recited  may  attend  without  needing  the  immediate  oversight  of  the  tencher,  who 
must  be  engaged  elsewhere,  and  this  book  is  the  very  thine  wanted,  for  the  pupil  can 
write  the  exercise  by  himself,  and  the  teacher  can  correct  it  at  his  leisure.  Wherever 
the  Common  School  Speller  has  gone,  this  Companion  has  generally  followed.  17  cts. 

THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  GRAMMAR,  by  WM.  B.  FOWI.B.  PART 
FIRST,  illustrated  by  pictures,  for  Primary  Schools.  PART  SECOND,  designed  for  Gram- 
mar and  High  Schools.  This  Grammar  is  peculiar  for  its  simplicity,  as  well  as  for  its 
thoroughly  practical  tendency  ;  the  object  being  to  compel  the  pupil  louse  the  grammar 
and  the  language  together,  from  the  beginning.  Part  I.,  10  cts  ;  Part  II.,  1~  cts. 

Most  children  who  are  taught  grammar  hate  the  study,  and  few  have  any  idea  that  it 
is  to  aid  them  in  the  correct  use  of  language.  In  these  grammars  the  use  of  language  is 
BO  connected  with  the  principles  of  grammar,  that  the  child  sees  the  relation,  and  ieels 
interested  in  the  exercise.  This  Grammar  is  peculiar  in  another  respect.  It  has  omitted 
all  that  had  been  added  by  Murray  and  others  to  make  the  grammar  of  English  an 
introduction  to  the  Latin  and  Greek  -grammars,  thus  restoring  English  Grammar  to  its 
native  simplicity,  and  removing  the  worst  stumbling-blocks  that  have  prevented  the 
progress  of  beginners.  No  new  names  are  coined,  no  novelties  are  proposed,  hut  the 
grammar  is  only  restored  to  what  it  was  before  it  was  perverted  and  nearly  mined  by 
Lindley  Murray  and  his  followers.  Any  teacher  who  is  competent  to  teach  Murray  can 
teach  this,  while  many  a  pupil  who  is  incompetent  to  study  Murray  will  see  reason  in 
this,  and  study  it  with  pleasure  and  profit. 

THE  ELEMENTARY  GEOGRAPHY  FOR  MASSACHUSETTS 
CHILDKEN.  This  new  liltle  work  contains  the  elements  of  General  Geography  for 
Primary  Schools,  but  it  is  peculiar  in  giving  the  geography  and  history  of  every  town, 
in  Massachusetts,  that  the  child  may  know  something  of  HOME,  as  well  as  of  remote 
countries ;  by  WM.  B.  FOWLM. 


It  Is  high  time  that  onr  children  should  know  something  of  the  geography  of  our  own 
Stale.  The  geographies  that  have  hitherto  been  prepared  for  our  schools  have  only  devoted 
two  or  three  pages,  out  of  300  or  400,  to  Massachusetts,  and  this  is  all  that  our  children 
have  learned  of  their  native  State!  This  little  work  devotes  as  much  room  to  remote 
countries  as  they  deserve,  and  then  gives  a  geographical  notice  of  every  town  in  our 
Stale,  with  a  map  of  each  county,  marking  the  boundaries  of  every  town  The  book 
also  contains  directions  for  its  use,  so  that  the  child  shall  know  how  to  use  the  knowl- 
edge he  may  acquire.  Trade  price,  33$  cts. 

THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  GEOGRAPHY,  with  an  ATLAS,  by 
WM  B.  FOWLB.  This  Geography,  also,  has  about  ten  limes  as  much  to  say  of  Massa- 
chusetts as  is  said  in  any  other  school  geography.  The  matter,  too,  contained  in  the 
book,  is  of  such  a  permanent  nature,  that  a  new  edition  cannot  materially  differ  from 
the  old,  so  that  a  frequent  rhange  of  books  is  rendered  unnecessary. 

Directions  for  the  use  of  t.he  book  are  given  when  needed,  and  the  questions  are  asked 
in  such  a  way  that  the  pupil  will  dig  for  himself,  and  impress  the  lessons  on  his  memory 
by  understanding  them,  and  rendering  himself  familiar  with  every  portion  of  the  glnhe. 
This  book  contains  no  science  but  Geography,  much  as  it  is  the  fashion  to  put  a~litlle 
of  every  thing  else  inlo  our  school  geographies;  but  it  contains  as  much  geography  as 
any  child  can  learn  at  school  as  it  ought  to  be  learned.  Trade  price,  67  cts. 

FOWLE'S     OUTLINE     MAP     OF    MASSACHUSETTS,    FOR 

SCHOOLS.  This  new  and  desirable  Map  measures  seven  feet  by  five,  and  is  much 
larger  than  the  State  Map  lately  published  by  the  Legislature.  Every  town  is  colored 
separately,  railroads  are  marked,  and  every  important  object  distinctly  represented. 
The  map  is  accompanied  with  a  Key,  or  small  Geography  of  Massachusetts,  which 
describes  every  town. 

Besides  the  great  Outline  of  the  State,  properly  colored  and  mounted,  the  sheet  con- 
tains fiic-similes  of  two  very  curious  Maps  of  Massachusetts ;  one,  the  first  that  was 
ever  published,  dated  London,  1634;  and  the  olher.  the  first  ever  engraved  in  this 
country,  dated  in  1677.  The  admirable  skill  with  which  these  maps  have  been  copied, 
and  ihe  exlreme  rarity  of  the  originals,  make  them  a  very  valuable  addition  to  the  great 
Map  of  the  State,  and  an  object  of  great  interest  lo  antiquarians  and  olhers,  who  may 
study  the  history  and  geography  of  Massachusetts.  Price,  $5.00. 

Many  schools  have  adopted  this  map,  and  some  towns  have  liberally  placed  one  in 
every  school.  The  town  of  Dorchester  set  the  example  by  taking  seventeen  at  once.  It 
is  hoped  that  every  town  wiU  do  likewise. 

THE  PRIMARY  READER.  A  lively  reading  book,  calculated  to 
interest  children,  and  make  them  natural  and  inlelligenl  readers.  By  WM.  B.  Fowr.E. 

This  book,  by  Mr.  Fowle,  must  not  he  mistaken  for  others  of  the  same  name  thai 
differ  from  it  essentially  in  vivacity,  variety,  and  the  interest  it  creates  in  the  child. 
It  ia  calculated  for  children  who  can  read  easy  words ;  and  the  author  intended  it 
rather  to  accompany  than  to  supersede  other  books  of  ils  class.  Trade  price,  17  els. 

FAMILIAR  DIALOGUES,  suitable  for  exhibition  in  schools  and  acade- 
mies of  either  sex.  and  for  the  amusement  of  the  family  circle.  By  WM.  B.  FOWLB. 

This  book  contains  many  lively  dialogues  calculated  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of 
other  works  in  this  respect.  If  not  used  as  a  regular  class  book,  every  school  should 
have  a  few  copies  in  which  the  pupils  may  read  for  variety,  or  as  a  reward.  The  hook 
contains  several  discussinns  also,  in  which  the  pupils  may  take  pan,  instead  of  speaking 
isolated  pieces.  Price  reduced  to  50  eta. 

THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  SPEAKER.  A  New  Collection  of  Ordinal 
and  Selected  pieces  of  Prose  and  Poetry,  for  reading  and  recitalion.  By  WM.  B. 
FOWLE. 

This  volume,  also,  is  not  intended  to  supersede  the  Speakers  now  in  use,  but  to  sup- 
ply new  pieces,  and  to  furnish  a  greater  variety  than  is  usually  found. 

Of  the  extensive  selection  of  prose  and  poetry,  it  is  not  known  that  any  piece  had 
been  previously  published  in  any  similar  school  book.  In  connection  with  the  Familiar 
Dialogues,  this  volume  contains  a  rare  slock  for  the  young  declaimer.  Both  volumes 
are  lo  be  found  in  all  the  best  schools  where  declamation  is  taught  in  Boston  and  its 
vicinity.  Trade  price,  50  cts. 

A  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  GRAMMAR,  for  American  Teachers, 
peculiar  for  its  simplicity,  its  graduated  lessons,  its  rules  for  pronunciation,  and  other 
points  which  enable  a  teacher  to  instruct  olhers  while  only  a  learner  himself.  By  WM 
B.  FOWLE.  Trade  price,  67  ct«. 


Teachers  who  hare  tried  in  vain  to  find  ont  the  distinctive  elements  of  the  French 
language,  are  invited  to  examine  this  little  volume,  which,  for  distinctness,  simplicity 
of  arrangement,  originality,  and  other  points,  best  understood  by  the  thoiough  and  prac- 
tical teacher,  has  high  claims.  It  has  been  very  highly  commended  by  both  French 
and  American  teachers. 

THE  FRENCH  CLASS  BOOK.  A  new  selection  of  Prose.  Dialoeiies 
and  Poetry.  An  agreeable  reading  book,  containing  a  greater  variety  than  any  other 
of  the  kind,  and  chiefly  from  eminent  modern  writers.  By  WM.  B.  FOWLE.  Trade 
price,  67  cts. 

No  other  reading  book  contains  so  complete  a  selection.  It  begins  with  easy  prose, 
and  gradually  rises  to  the  most  difficult  poetry,  being  in  this  respect  far  superior  to  any 
single  work  of  one  author. 

THE  CHILD'S  ARITHMETIC.  A  practical  mental  arithmetic  for 
Primary  Schools,  highly  recommended  as  an  introduction  to  Colburn's  First  Lessons, 
in  Palmer's  Prize  Essay,  and  in  the  "  School  and  Schoolmaster."  By  WM.  B.  FOWLE. 

This  little  book  is  strongly  recommended  by  the  highest  authority  in  this  matter.  It 
ia  practical,  and  calculated  to  lead  the  child  by  degrees  to  see  the  relation  of  numbers, 
and  to  apply  his  mind  to  calculations  befitting  his  age.  Parents  who  teach  their  own 
children  will  find  this  a  guide  as  well  as  an  assistant. 

WILLIAM  B.  FOWLB  also  publishes  LECTURES  OX  EDUCATION  by 

HORACE  MANN. 

This  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  teacher  and  educationist  has  just  been  prepared  at  the 
request  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  has  been  adopted  as  one  volume  of  its  District 
Library.  Those  who  have  purchased  the  other  volumes  of  the  Board's  Library  will  be 
supplied  with  this  at  the  same  rate. 

The  Lectures  are  Seven,  on  the  following  important  subjects : 

1.  Means  and  objects  of  Common  School  Education. 

2.  Special  preparation  a  pre-requisite  to  teaching. 

3.  The  necessity  of  Education  in  a  Republican  Government. 

4.  What  God  does,  and  what  he  leaves  for  man  to  do,  in  the  work  of  education. 
a.  An  Historical  view  of  Education,  showing  its  dignity,  and  its  degradation. 

6.  On  District  School  Libraries. 

7.  On  School  Punishments. 

THE  AMERICAN  SCHOOL,  SONG  BOOK,) 
THE  PRIMARY  SCHOOL,  SONG   BOOK,     \ 

These  two  little  books  have  been  introduced  into  hundreds  of  our  schools.  The  plan 
of  teaching  proposed  by  the  author  is  so  simple  that  few  teachers,  however  unmusical, 
are  afraid  to  commence  teaching  it.  The  Primary  School  Song  Book  is  mainly  intended 
to  be  taught  to  children  who  can  imitate  sounds,  but  who  neither  pretend  to  read  music 
nor  any  thing  else.  The  American  School  Song  Book  developes  the  plan,  and  contains  a 
larger  and  belter  collection  of  music,  BO  fur  aa  it  is  more  interesting  and  popular,  than 
any  other  School  Song  Book.  Price,  20  and  10  cts. 

THE  MULTIPLICATION  TABLE  set  to  Music,  by  ASA  Frrz.  The 
Addition,  Subtraction  and  Division  Tables  are  also  adapted  to  the  same  tune.  The 
Tables  are  all  printed  on  one  card  with  the  notes;  and,  the  facility  with  which  the 
tables  are  learned,  and  the  interest  the  exercise  of  singing  them  gives  to  the  other  exer- 
cises, have  already  introduced  the  cards  into  a  very  large  number  of  the  best  Primary 
Schools.  Price,  50  cts.  a  dozen. 

HUMAN  ANATOMY,  in  connection  with  PHYSIOLOGY.  By  J.  F.  W. 
LANB,  M.  D. 

This  has  been  prepared  with  a  view  to  remedy  the  defects  of  other  similar  textbooks. 
The  work  is  freed  as  much  as  possible  from  technical  language.  The  anatomical  illus- 
trations are  very  distinct  and  well  executed  :  the  Anatomy  and  Physiology  are  side  by 
aide,  BO  as  to  explain  each  other,  and  the  whole  book  is  based  upon  the  latest  discoveries 
in  the  important  science  of  Human  Physiology.  Trade  price,  50  cts. 

POPE'S  ESSAY  ON  MAN.  This  new  edition  is  freed  from  the  numerous 
errors  that  had  crept  into  all  the  school  editions  in  use  at  its  publication.  The  text  is 
accompanied  with  notes,  to  aid  the  pupil  in  understanding  the  meaning  of  the  author. 
Trade  price,  10  -,ts. 


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